Light
by februaryk
Summary: "It don't matter," Daryl said, watching as Juliana and Beth started to move the upper half of the body, "She's dead." "It does matter," Juliana told him, staring him down through the dimly lit room. Juliana discovers a beacon of hope in the group, only to be swept away by the chaos and terror that unfolds. Will the primal need to survive be enough? [slowburn][darylxoc]
1. Moment of Change

**01**

 **Moment of Change**

* * *

The primal need to survive was the only thing that had kept her alive so far. That, and pure luck. Juliana was certain that she was not the only one that questioned why she had managed to survive over others. Good people were not supposed to die. They were supposed to be that bright beacon of light, leading people like Juliana to safety. And yet, here she was, still alive, and no closer to any beacon.

Her legs moved her forward, but they burned and ached. She could remember a time when her mind would tell her to stop and rest, and now it was automatic. The basic needs for survival were all she could manage to do. That, and hide from the dead and the living. As time went on, it became clear to Juliana that those who were still alive were worse.

An old backpack was wrapped around her shoulders. Each strap was wrapped around with duct tape multiple times to keep them together, with the hope that maybe one day she would be able to fill it with more than tin cans of dog food and half empty water bottles. She was sure her back was coated in sweat in this heat. A dark blue shirt clung to her skin, and every time she tried to pull it away from her skin to get some air, it would come back onto her stomach with a 'slap.' Her jeans were ripped at the knees and dirty; tucked into a pair of brown boots she had found somewhere in South Carolina. It had taken her awhile to be okay with taking what wasn't hers, because these boots belonged to someone. Someone wore them and lived in them. Now they were probably dead, but Juliana felt like she was walking in the shoes of a ghost. Even if scavenging was now something that had to be done, it never felt comfortable.

She kept on moving. Stopping to grab an old water bottle out of the backpack when she felt her throat scream at her in thirst. This time when she stopped, a rustling came from the woods next to the road. One of the dead came shambling out awkwardly through the brush, knocking his dislocated shoulder against a tree as he let out a low groan making his way towards her. Her hand fell to her belt, yanking at a hunting knife she had found at some old outfitters. Without hesitating, she gripped the handle confidently and took a few long strides over to him. The flesh had peeled away from around his teeth; lips gone due to decay. He chomped in her direction, a skeletal hand with missing fingers reaching out. Juliana held a hand to his chest to keep him at a distance and drew her other hand back, plunging the knife into his temple. The dead stopped suddenly as if someone had turned a switch off, and he fell to the ground as Juliana yanked the knife back out of his skull.

Her first kill hadn't gone as easy, or as emotionless. She had come to check in on her mother, who happened to be incredibly obese. So much so that the woman was going to be living out her days in a bed that almost wasn't enough to hold the large amounts of skin and fat that rolled off her body. Juliana didn't visit often, as a nurse took care of her mother. Juliana and her mother never got along well, even when Juliana was younger. The woman was a heartless bitch surrounded by fat, and Juliana resented her immensely.

She had come to the house when the hospital called and informed her that the nurse who helped her mother would be unable to come out for an undetermined amount of time. It didn't sit well with Juliana, as she now had to leave work early to feed and bathe her own mother. When she got to the house, it was the smell that hit her first when she walked through the door. It was something she had never smelled before. Juliana gagged, holding her hand to her mouth as the smell became worse and worse. The sound of flies buzzing in the house became louder as she made her way to her mother's bedroom. The woman was rotting. Vomit covered the front of her; but she was awake, or so Juliana had thought at the time. Her mother had let out a groan, drool rolling out from the corner of her mouth as she lifted a hand to Juliana. Juliana was terrified, disgusted, and distracted. There had been a nurse at the home, and she came out from behind the half-closed door of the room, missing half of her face. Juliana had stumbled backwards and the nurse followed unrelentingly. Juliana screamed at yelled at the nurse and began throwing things at her: pillows, small collectibles; anything she could find. The nurse in the purple scrubs continued, and finally managed to grab Juliana in her distressed state. Juliana fell, grabbing onto a lamp on her way down.

The nurse clawed at her shirt, teeth chomping. The tendons in her jaw visible from the outside. Juliana closed her eyes, smashing the lamp against the side of the nurse's head. The clawing stopped, and when she opened her eyes she saw the nurse had rolled half off her, fresh blood seeping out of a crack in her skull. Pushing the body the rest of the way off her, Juliana sat up quickly, pulling her knees up to her chest and sobbed. Hours later she managed to go back into her mother's room and bashed her head in with a baseball bat.

Things were so much different now. She could take the dead's life without a second thought. Having to kill someone who was alive, though, that was rough.

Juliana continued, and single miles turned into double digits. For miles, there had been nothing but road, and woods, and an old broken car here and there. The windows varied from broken out to rolled up with an old blanket shoved up into the crack between the window and the lip of the door. Scratching and groaning reverberated from one of the cars. Juliana glanced around as she continued forwards, just to make sure that none of the dead were following her.

A soft warm breeze blew from the south, giving her a little relief from the sweltering heat of the south. She pulled at her shirt again. It sucked against her skin for a moment before coming away. The breeze blew by again and a sigh escaped her lips; the air caressing her skin. Letting go, the skin slapped back against her skin like it had done before. The fabric felt heavier, and Juliana was beginning to think she was wearing her weight in sweat that had soaked into the shirt.

From the timber line a large mass appeared in front of her. Juliana rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand to make sure that she wasn't hallucinating. When realization came over her that it was real, her breath hitched in her throat. Before her was a large correctional facility; a side of the building had been blown out yet the inside, which remained surrounded by a high-security fence. As she surveyed the area quickly, noting that a few of the dead were pressed up tight against the wire fence, she couldn't help but notice that the inside seemed all but free from them. It would be a good place to rest if it was free from the dead.

A surge of hope rushed through her and she quicken her pace, veering off the road that led directly up to the prison and into the dense forest. Her hand reached from the knife at her hip, yanking it free from her belt. Fingers grasped the handle as she moved through the woods, maneuvering around thick shrubs and sliding between masses of young trees that had grown tightly together.

She had managed to fight her way through the thick understory and came to meet the edge where the woods met a field of short grass that sprawled out until it met the fence line. That hope that had begun to rush through her swelled through her body again. One foot stepped out onto the grass before Juliana was yanked back into the woods. A woman carrying a sword, which was now conveniently placed against her neck, had pulled her back into the woods.

In this moment, everything changed. 

* * *

**Author's Note**

 _If you've read previously, I decided to updated/revise this story. If not, well, hope you enjoy!_


	2. Back of Your Mind

**02**

 **Back of Your Mind**

* * *

The introduction to the group had been a whirlwind. Accusations were thrown at Juliana that she worked for someone who was called 'The Governor.' They argued among themselves to determine if she should be allowed to stay or not. It was off putting to Juliana, who had been alone for quite some time now, to be surrounded by so much sound. It had taken her aback how quiet it had been out there on her own.

Their leader, Rick, as she came to know, was forward. He asked her how many walkers she had killed and she shrugged and shook her head; the number was something she didn't keep track of. Not now, anyways. Next, he asked how many people she had killed. Her breath hitched in her throat at the question. So far, she had been lucky to not have to kill anyone out of self-defensive, but a few people she had traveled with on and off had been bit and she had the task of putting them down. So, she answered honestly, noticing the group become tense at her reply. When Rick followed it up with why, the group then seemed to visibly relax at her reason why.

Juliana felt as if she were back in high school trying to prove herself to the clique of girls she thought she had so badly wanted to be friends with. The tension between them could be cut with a knife. Rick finally broke that tension, deciding that Juliana was okay to stay. He casually introduced her to the group, mentioning briefly that there were a few more inside.

Michonne, the woman who had caught Juliana off guard in the woods stepped towards Juliana as the group dissipated silently, going off to their own business while keeping an eye on this new guest who had yet to gain any one's trust.

"Sorry for the scare," Michonne said, motioning to Juliana's neck.

Juliana reached up, fingers gingerly touching the spot where the business end of Michonne's sword had been. Pulling her hand away, she saw a light smear of blood on her finger tips. Wiping her hand on the fabric of her jeans, Juliana smiled halfheartedly at Michonne.

"You had too," she replied.

Michonne stared down at Juliana, lips pursed as she nodded. The woman was hard to read, but she was strong and skilled, there was no mistake about that. Juliana couldn't help but envy her.

Another woman, who Juliana remembered was named Maggie, came forward. Offering a smile to Michonne as if it gave her the okay to take her leave, Michonne nodded once more to Maggie and went on her way.

Maggie turned her attention to Juliana, "Come on," she reached her arm out, grabbing gently at Juliana's upper arm and pulled her with her so the two women would be walking side by side away from the main gate of the prison.

"You never said your name."

Juliana glanced over at Maggie as the two of them walked further up the path, "Oh, yeah, Juliana," she replied. Her gaze drifted past Maggie as she saw what looked like a small paddock that held some sort of livestock and an area which looked like a garden, "You guys are providing for yourselves?" she questioned.

Maggie nodded, "As well as we can.." her voice drifted off, "..You've been out there on your own?"

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Juliana shoved her hands into the front pockets of her worn and faded jeans, "On and off," she mumbled, "Couldn't seem to keep a group. Bad luck I guess."

Maggie offered her a sympathetic smile, "I think we've all been there."

The two of them walked the rest of the way up to the walls of the prison in award silence. A cool breeze was beginning to blow through. It licked at the back of Juliana's neck causing goosebumps to pop up on her exposed skin. It was a welcome relief from the sweltering heat she had suffered through hours earlier, hinting that the day would be coming to an end soon.

Maggie led Juliana into the actual prison. It was humid and stuffy, a stark contrast from how the outside world was just starting to become pleasant and bearable. She mentioned how they had cleared the prison out, and how they had lost some of their group in the process. Juliana glimpsed over at Maggie as she spilled their story out to Juliana. The pain of loss looked like it weighed heavy on Maggie's shoulders, causing Juliana's heart to ache. It was still never easy, no matter how many deaths you had seen. It was even harder when the ability to mourn was overcome with the more important matter to survive.

Juliana had fallen behind Maggie after she was done talking. Coming up behind her, a large, steel door had been propped open, opening into a large room. It was strewn with random tables and various supplies that were stacked and haphazardly pushed off to the side. A steel staircase led straight up to a walkway which mimicked the layout of cells that were on the bottom level. Maggie had been generous enough to take Juliana to an empty cell that was some ways down from the main group. She understood why, but it still felt like a kick in the gut.

"If you need anything.." Maggie began.

Juliana had stepped into the cell and rose a hand at Maggie before she could finish, "I'm good. Thanks again, Maggie."

Maggie nodded, her lips pressed tightly together in thought, "You seem like a good person, Juliana, and I feel like you would be safe here, with us."

Feeling a little dumbfounded at Maggie's offer, she settled on the bottom bunk. It creaked and groaned under her weight. Maggie noted Juliana's uneasiness, "No pressure," she reassured her, "Just..keep it in the back of your mind."

Maggie left her in the cell, alone again. She had to admit, the group seemed all but capable of killing her before she would even step through the gate, and the fact that they seemed to have a sense of morality rested well with her. Then again, being alone for so long left you isolated with your thoughts and an overwhelming distrust for anyone who wasn't dead.

The walls felt like they were closing in on her in this cell. She pushed herself up off the bunk, another loud groan emitted from the springs. The metal feet of the bed scratched loudly against the concrete floors as she pushed off the mattress.

Departing the small room as hastily as possible, her body met another's. Whoever it was cursed loudly, spewing out nonsense insults as Juliana reeled back from the small impact. It would turn out to be someone that Juliana would later come to realize had more than just a physical impact on her.


	3. Three Amigos

**03**

 **Three Amigos**

* * *

Things had turned into a shit show soon after Juliana arrived at the prison. Just when she had begun to become comfortable with the group, the man who they had accused her of working for when she first showed up, destroyed it. They were all thrown into chaos, starting with The Governor decapitating Herschel. The agony of Maggie and Beth's screams soaked into her veins. It was something she had never witnessed before, and the memory of it was burned forever into her skull.

Rick had trusted her enough to lend her a gun, and she fought alongside them. After all, they had given her food and shelter. She felt obligated to help them out.

The tank was just an unexpected bonus.

She had been shooting through the fence at the handful of them that were speeding up to them in pickup trucks. A hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder. Juliana spun around, gun aimed at the head of her would-be attacker to see Daryl there. He yanked her by the arm, shoving her behind stacked up filing cabinets as the tank aimed and hit a corner of the building. Juliana cringed at the impact that sent her shoulder slamming into the side of the cabinet. Daryl had disappeared for that moment, and when she peered from out behind the filing cabinet she saw him holding up one of the dead in front of him as he was shot at. From where she stood, she wasn't able to see the grenade in his hand until it went off.

Juliana took this opportunity to dart out from behind the cabinet. Tucking the butt of the gun under her armpit, she readied her finger at the trigger, shooting at a walker that stepped out in front of her. The bullet shattered its skull; pieces of bone and brains spewing out onto the concrete behind the corpse as it crumpled down onto the ground.

Picking up her pace, she jogged to catch up to Daryl who had swung his crossbow around, smashing the face of a walker. Juliana followed up by taking a shot at another walker who was ambling up from Daryl's left side. He paused for a moment to glance behind his shoulder, shouting at her to hurry up as he ripped off the end of another grenade, shoving it into business end of the tank. The tank rumbled as fire spewed out from the top part. Juliana jumped at the bang it made from inside the steel machine.

Finally catching up with Daryl, she reached out a hand to his arm when she stopped. A man wearing a camo hat and cut off shirt, who Juliana didn't realize had been the one operating the tank, stood in front of them. She was hesitant to raise her weapon at the man, but Daryl was not. With his crossbow raised he took a step forward and pulled the trigger. She was expecting him to show some mercy and aim for the man's head. Instead, the arrow pierced him near his heart. He cringed and wavered backwards at the impact of the arrow.

Juliana stared at Daryl through the haze of gun fire and smoke that erupted around them. He stared back, unflinching at the range of emotions that filled Juliana's eyes.

Beth was suddenly at her side, bringing her back to reality. A surge of sound flooded back to her ears and she shook her head as if she had been underwater the entire time.

Grabbing at Beth's arm, the two of them and Daryl took off. There was no more hope here, and as far as the three of them knew, no one else had made it.

* * *

The three of them ran as hard and as fast as they could. Shrubs and branches reached out and scratched at exposed skin. Juliana had to tug at her gun from time to time in mid-run, freeing it from being caught up in the overly thick brush. Her lungs were heavy, and it hurt to breathe. She was sure Daryl and Beth were feeling the same way.

Finally, the woods opened into a field. The three of them broke through the timber. Daryl and Beth fell onto their backs while Juliana fell to her knees. She could hear the other two breathing just as heavy as she was. Gathering as much strength as she could, Juliana swung the gun behind her back and crawled on all fours over to Beth's side. Nudging at the girl, Juliana softly spoke her name, but Beth didn't look. Following Beth's gaze, she looked up to the sky, noting the circling buzzards that soared above them.

Juliana let out a sigh and lowered her head to look back at Beth, still laying on her back. Wiping her brow with the back of her hand, she nudged at Beth again, speaking her name louder.

Beth finally turned her head slowly in Juliana's direction, looking back in Juliana's direction. Juliana felt a pang of sadness in her heart as Beth's bright blue eyes stared back at her, her chest still rising and falling heavily as she lay there.

"Come on," Juliana whispered, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Get up. We can rest here for a while..but not while lyin' on your back."

Daryl had sat up onto his elbows, peering over at the two of them. Juliana met his gaze as she helped Beth up, pulling her up carefully by the hand, "Maybe you can help get some wood, yeah?"

Beth nodded wordlessly, seeming to look right through Juliana. The brightness of her eyes had dimmed. Juliana forced a tight-lipped smile, rubbing a hand up and down Beth's arm comfortingly. "I'll keep an eye out," she reassured her, dropping her hand.

Beth didn't wander too far away from her, mindlessly picking up small pieces of kindling and slightly larger branches that had fallen off trees.

Turning her head over her shoulder, she caught sight of Daryl who was now standing. Shifting the gun that was starting to rub at her shoulder, Juliana turned and trudged through the tall grass, making her way over to him.

"Hey," she mumbled.

Daryl peered back at her through shaggy and sweat drenched hair, his jaw clenched. An awkward silence filled the space between them. Juliana had concluded that he was the king of awkward silences.

"What are we going to do?" she asked, cautiously speaking each word. She felt like she was smacking him with each syllable that came out; assuming he was now the person in charge of this broken group.

His thumb and finger tugged at his bottom lip and his shoulders shrugged, " 'Dunno," he muttered.

Juliana glanced over in Beth's direction. She was still picking up sticks, placing them into the bottom of her shirt that she had rolled up into a makeshift carrier with her other hand. Content for the moment that Beth was okay, her attention went back to Daryl.

"Okay," Juliana said as she exhaled, tucking a loose strand of wet hair behind her ear. Pausing a moment, she reached up, placing a hand against Daryl's cheek. She could feel him tense under her touch, but from what she came to know of Daryl, he was far more afraid than he let on, and sometimes people like that just needed to know someone was there for them.

It didn't last long before she pulled her hand away, clenching it into a fist a few times, "I'll help Beth."

* * *

Darkness came quickly. Every crunch and snap echoed through the woods and shuffled down into the clearing the three of them were in. It made Juliana uneasy, and even though she had been accustomed to being alone for so long, she felt her time with the group had made her vulnerable.

Daryl had managed to light a fire with the kindling that Juliana and Beth had found a few hours earlier. It warmed their skin and helped with drying the sweat from their clothes. Juliana settled herself in between Beth and Daryl, drawing her knees up to her chest with her gun laid down next to her.

"We should do something," Beth finally spoke up.

Juliana and Daryl didn't reply to her, and she spoke up again. "We should do something," Beth repeated, louder this time.

Looking over at Daryl, who finally lifted his eyes in acknowledgement to Beth, Juliana picked at a blade of grass from the ground, twirling it in between her fingers as she turned her head to listen to what Beth had to say.

"We aren't the only survivors. We can't be." She paused, "Rick. Michonne. They could be out there," her voice sparked a sense of hope within Juliana, and she peeked over at Daryl who was still sitting in silence.

"Maggie and Glenn could have made it out of A block. They could've!" Beth exclaimed, looking between Juliana and Daryl.

As much hope as Beth had, Juliana felt that she and Daryl were in the same boat. With everything that had happened there was a slim chance that everyone had made it out alive, and even then, there was a slim chance that they would all somehow reunite together.

Daryl's gaze dropped away from Beth, and she stood, "You're a tracker, you can track."

Juliana's gaze shifted away from Beth and to Daryl, who still wouldn't look her in the eyes.

"Come on!" Beth's voice rose, desperate now, "The sun will be up soon. If we head out now we can-"

Noticing both Juliana's and Daryl's unwillingness to help her she stopped midsentence, "Fine!" Beth's voice rose and she stalked over next to Daryl, yanking out a hunting knife he had thrown into the ground earlier, "If you won't track, I will." She took a moment then, looking at both of them before she stalked off into the dark.

Juliana and Daryl looked at each other, and then back at the darkness Beth had walked into. Without any words between the two of them, Juliana grabbed the strap of her gun, sliding it onto her shoulder and adjusted it so it sat on her back semi-comfortably. Daryl followed, though hesitant, and kicked at dirt around the fire until it went out. Grabbing his crossbow, he and Juliana followed after Beth and wandered off into the dark.


	4. Long Lost Hope

**04**

 **Long Lost Hope**

* * *

Dawn had broken through the dark within the hour. Dark blues and purples faded out into a striking splash of orange, red, and yellow. This display of nature only lasted about an hour before clouds overtook the sky, shielding the morning sun from breaking through.

Beth had seemed irritated at Juliana and Daryl, and she had a right to be. They both sat idly by while she tried to reassure them that other people had to be alive. Juliana and Daryl's negative outlooks didn't sit well with her, but Juliana had to hand it to Beth that she was determined and had held onto hope far longer than she could have.

"What if she's right?" Juliana enquired as she followed slightly behind Daryl as not to disturb him tracking.

He didn't look back at her as she asked him this, though a grunt left his lips as he stepped over a log, "Well I'll throw 'er a fuckin' party, then." Daryl grumbled.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at the comment. For being as quiet as he was, when he finally decided to say something, he never held back.

Daryl stopped and crouched down suddenly. As he started to clear away debris on the ground, Juliana motioned to Beth. Beth looked hesitant, but finally came over to the two of them.

"Could be Luke's, or Molly's," she suggested. Daryl blew at the leaves to get a better view of the footprints that were left in the red dirt.

"Whoever they are, it means they're alive."

He turned his head to glance over at Juliana, who shifted her weight back on her heels for Daryl's final observation. Daryl shook his head at Beth's comment, "No. This means they were alive three or four hours ago."

Beth looked as if she wanted to smack him across the head, "They're alive!" she spat, and quickly stalked off from the two of them again.

A sigh escaped Juliana's lips as Beth wandered away from them again. Daryl took a minute to watch her go before he stood and followed after her.

"Teenagers," Juliana muttered under her breath, stepping in the footprints that Daryl left in front of her.

The woods began to open up slightly, and the path turned sandy, appearing to be a small, old road that was maybe used by ATVs or dirt bikes. Juliana had pulled her weapon around to her front as she observed Beth slowing down slightly as they rounded a corner.

Noticing a disturbance in the brush, Daryl pointed it out to the two of them, "They picked up the pace right here," he said, "Got out in a hurry. Things went bad."

Juliana glanced over at Beth's face as he mentioned that things had gone bad. He eyes went wide for a moment before she spoke, "Wouldn't kill you to have a little faith," she paused and peered over at Juliana, "Both of you."

Daryl shrugged his shoulders slightly as Beth turned her attention away from him, trying to look as if she was looking for more signs of life when Juliana was sure she was just trying to avoid confrontation with him.

"Yeah, faith," he grumbled, "Faith ain't done shit for us. Sure as hell didn't do nothin' for your father."

Juliana felt her eyes widen at his comment, "Dixon!" she hissed, almost in awe at the harsh comment he had spewed out at Beth.

Beth whipped around, finally catching Daryl's eye. The two of them watched each other carefully, and Juliana knew Daryl had regretted what he had said to Beth. She hadn't even had any time to mourn her father's death yet.

Stepping over to Beth, she placed a hand on her back gingerly. Beth turned around again, picking at a few berries that were hanging off of twisted vines that had wound themselves up into tree branches. Juliana felt dejected, dropping her hand away from her.

"They'll be hungry when we find them."

Quietly, Daryl had pulled out a bandanna she stepped forward with it in his hand. He awkwardly tapped Beth on her upper arm with it. Not turning around right away, he tapped her softly again. She turned, looking him up and down and took the black bandanna from him.

Glancing at Juliana as he turned away from Beth, she couldn't help but offer him a soft smile, appreciating what he had done to 'make up' for the comment he had made about Herschel. If there was one thing she had discovered about Daryl Dixon was that he wasn't an easy one to figure out. Juliana had assumed it was one of the reasons why he had survived.

The three of them continued on, both Juliana and Daryl had their weapons at the ready, feeling as if they were coming up onto something they needed to be prepared for.

They quickly came upon two dead walkers. Beth and Juliana watched as Daryl reached over, rubbing his finger and thumb between a leaf that had splatters of blood on its green surface.

"What?" Juliana asked.

Daryl shook his head slightly, not looking at either of them, "That ain't walker blood."

Juliana and Beth exchanged looks, and she took off again, stepping over the two walkers on the ground.

"The trail keeps going. They fought them off!" she stopped just after stepping over the second walker on the ground.

"No," Daryl began, "Got walker tracks all up and down here," he said, motioning to all the shuffling imprints of footprints in the ground, "At least a dozen of them."

Juliana and Daryl had stepped a few feet away from Beth, not hearing the twig snapping that had caused Beth to go into a panic. It only took a few seconds before a walker came stumbling out of the timber, grasping at Beth's shirt from behind. Juliana and Daryl whipped around with their weapons ready to fire, but due to the way the walker was hold Beth, a shot would have gotten her too.

"Shit!" Juliana cursed. Daryl threw down his crossbow, fumbling at grabbing the walker away from Beth. Tackling him down to the ground, Juliana acted quicker than Beth who had reached for her knife that she had dropped. Swinging her gun around, she aimed the butt of it at the temple of the walker's head, smashing it into his head as hard as she could.

Daryl shoved the walker off of him, sweating and panting he looked up at Juliana who mumbled a 'sorry', and extended her hand to him. He reached out, wrapping his fingers around her forearm and she did the same around his to help yank him up. With his other hand he wiped off the splatter of blood and bone that had emitted from the wound on the walker's head.

Without missing a beat, he grabbed his crossbow, "Come on," he said to the two of them.

They finally emerged to meet an old railroad that went through the woods, and it was where they had found what they had been looking for. The three of them stared in silence at a handful of dead, scattered next to the railroad. A few of them had changed, and were engorging themselves on the others. The hope that Beth had begun to instill in both Juliana and Daryl suddenly dissipated.

Daryl shot, taking down the last few who had turned, except one. They managed to get close to the last walker who had been so enthralled in eating someone fresh, he didn't hear them coming. Juliana silently motioned for Beth to give her the knife, and Beth obliged, quietly placing the handle of the knife into Juliana's hand. She side-stepped Daryl as he was pulling his arrow's out of the other's head, and grabbed onto the back of the walker's head. The walker let out a gurgle before she sunk the blade deep into the top of its head.

Wiping the blood off on her jeans, she handed it back to Beth, who took it back from her. Juliana watched Beth, waiting for her to say something; but she didn't.

Daryl wouldn't even look at the two of them, and began to walk away. Juliana was more hesitant, not sure if she should keep in step with Daryl of stay back with Beth.

Just as she took a step over one of the bodies, the sound of whimpering following by a sob came from behind her. Juliana stopped in her tracks, she knew Beth was crying. Dropping her head, she swallowed, putting on her best face for Beth before she turned around. Sobs racked Beth's body, and Juliana felt as if Beth had finally come to realization that maybe there was no more hope.

Juliana had turned her head to see Daryl had stopped in the middle of the tracks, and she turned her attention to a crying Beth. Though she wasn't one for affection, she knew now was probably a time when she needed to put her own feelings away to take care of someone else.

Stepping back to Beth, she pulled her to herself, wrapping her arms around her. Beth tucked her head into Juliana's chest, sobbing her heart out. Juliana had to admit, it was tearing her apart.


	5. Why You Survived

**05**

 **Why You Survived**

* * *

" _How did you do it?" Beth asked._

 _The small fire between the three of them crackled and flickered in the darkness, sending off embers in random directions. Daryl hadn't bothered to look up at her question, poking a stick into the embers instead. Juliana glanced over to Beth, who tilted her head to the side ever so slightly._

" _How did you stay alive alone for so long?"_

 _Juliana shrugged, her legs bent just enough she could lean forwards so her forearms rested on her knees, "I don't know," she answered honestly. Her answer called Daryl to raise his gaze in her direction, though Juliana hadn't noticed._

" _You have to know," Beth pressed, shifting a little closer to her, "We found them today and they-" her voice drifted off and she swallowed, "-they didn't even make it a day."_

 _For some reason, this irritated Juliana, and her head shot up to Beth, "Jesus, Beth, I don't fuckin' know, okay! I hope know if you're expecting me to give you some story of how I survived against all odds like it's some fucking movie. There's not gonna be some happy ending, Beth!"_

" _Jules," Daryl interjected, his voice low and gravely. He gently kicked at the toe of her boot to get her attention away from the sudden anger that had boiled up inside of her. When she had looked over at Daryl and then back at Beth, she realized how hurt Beth looked. Juliana could only muster up a quiet 'sorry' and turned away from Beth._

 _The buzz of insects and crack of fire was once again the only sound between the three of them before Beth's voice broke the quiet again._

" _That's why you survived," she whispered, just loud enough for both of them to hear._

* * *

Their stay at the small campsite was interrupted due to the sound of thunder rolling in from the distance. Daryl had made the executive decision to leave and find some place safer to stay for the night, and Juliana and Beth were glad for the decision because not too soon after they caught up with a large herd. They ended up coming up on an old, torn apart car parked sideways on the edge of the road. The thunder couldn't mask the sound of the shuffling of feet and groans of the walkers that were quickly coming up to them. She had been amazed that they could shove three people inside the trunk of the old car. Juliana had climbed in after Daryl, who used his handkerchief to close the trunk so they would be able to escape from it later. Beth climbed in after Juliana had crammed herself in, settling herself in tightly next to her.

They didn't sleep at all that night. Juliana could feel herself dozing on and off, but Daryl would nudge her gently as he noticed her starting to drift. He was physically and mentally stronger than she and Beth combined, there was no doubt about that.

Morning broke when they could exit the trunk of the car. Beth and Daryl scavenged for parts they would use back at the campsite they had to abandon last night, while Juliana kept watch. Her whole body ached from staying cramped up in the trunk all night, and she was sure that Daryl and Beth weren't feeling the greatest either. They all remained silent, only exchanging looks and nods between the three of them before they headed back to their meager campsite.

Beth had stayed to 'set up' the campsite while Juliana went with Daryl to find something to eat. She knew Daryl was fine on his own, but there were better odds at two people being able to gather something instead of one.

They walked side by side through the timber, leaves crunching under feet as they moved carefully through the understory together.

"How did you stay alive for so long?" Daryl questioned from out of the blue.

Juliana raised an eyebrow to him, surprised that he wanted to hold some sort of conversation with her.

"I told ya, I don't know. I just did."

He grunted, glancing at her sideways as he took a step over a decomposing log on the forest floor, "Naw," he began, "You're tough. Take no bullshit," he paused for a moment before continuing, "Don't trust nobody."

Shaking her head, Juliana let out a sigh, "You sure got some weird way of complimentin' people, Dixon."

Daryl stopped suddenly, placing a finger to his lips before raising his crossbow. Juliana fell quiet, her eyes following his to what he had seen: a squirrel. The small, furry animal was scampering halfway up a wide tree, stopping on the broadside of it for a moment. Daryl pulled the trigger and missed, and the squirrel zipped up the tree and out of sight.

Stalking over to the tree, he yanked out the arrow that had lodge itself into the trunk of the tree. The sheath of the arrow promptly snapped in half. They exchanged glances, but no words between them as they continued their hunt.

Luckily enough they had managed to find a big, fat, rattlesnake who had slithered out from under the brush out into the open. Juliana's stomach rumbled in anticipation. Reaching her arm out to Daryl, she motioned to him to hand her his knife, and with her other hand she grabbed onto a pronged stick that lay at her feet. With as little hesitation as possible, she moved quickly, trapping the snakes head between the forked stick and swiftly struck the knife into its head. Without grabbing onto the deceased snake, she sawed at its head, kicking it away into the brush.

A grin crossed her lips at she held the headless snake up by the tail, showing her prize off to Daryl who nodded in appreciation.

"Good job," he mumbled, taking the snake from her.

He skinned and cooked the snake when they got back to camp. It was filled with bones and tasted strange, but they were all starving, and at the moment it the best tasting thing she had had in days.

"I need a drink," Beth said. Daryl tossed an old pop bottle filled with water at her. She shook her head, "No, I mean a real drink. As in alcohol." Daryl continued to chomp away at the cooked snake, but Juliana raised her head at the request, giving Beth a strange look.

"What?" she questioned.

"I've never had one," Beth replied, "Cause of my dad. But he's not exactly around anymore so…" her voice drifted of, peering between Daryl and Juliana, Juliana knew she had to appeal to Daryl more than herself, and Beth focused more of her attention on him. "I thought we could go find some."

Silence filled the space between the three of them.

"Okay," she muttered, "Well, enjoy your snake jerky." Beth stood, wiping her hands on the front of her jeans as she did. Stepping over the dying fire, she pulled out his knife that he had shoved into a log next to the remaining snake skin and pieces of guts and stormed off again.

Cursing under her breath as she noticed Daryl unmoving, she yanked her gun off the ground from next to her and stood, stalking off after Beth.

"Fucking teenagers," she grumbled, entering the woods once again.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you're enjoying! Make sure you favorite and leave a review! I'm enjoying writing this now that I have free time off from classes and don't have to write any grants. If you're interested in what music I listen to that inspires me for this story, let me know and I'll post it next chapter! -KC**


	6. Everything's Screwed

**06**

 **Everything's Screwed**

* * *

Juliana had snuck up on Beth clutching a knife, pressed up against the backside of a tree. Her eyes were wide when Juliana stepped on a twig, snapping it beneath her boots. Beth stared at her with wide eyes, and Juliana stared back, eyes narrowed slightly in confused at what the hell she was trying to accomplish.

Daryl wasn't too far behind her, coming up next to Juliana with his crossbow at the ready. They wandered off as a threesome again, breaking through the understory and pushing past overgrown vines that outstretched into the small paths that wound throughout the timber that had been made by animals..or walkers.

"I think we made it a way," Beth started, pushing a branch out of her way, holding it for a moment as Juliana followed behind her, thanking her quietly at the gesture.

"I'm pretty sure we got to go that way to find the booze."

"Beth…" Juliana grumbled; cut short by Beth stopping short, a clanging noise following.

"What the hell?!" she stopped, backing up into Juliana who grabbed onto her shoulders to stop her from backing up further into her. She knew Daryl, who was ahead of the two of them, had brought Beth back to the campsite they had set up.

"You brought me back!" she spat, shrugging her shoulders from Juliana's grasp. "I'm not staying in this suck-ass camp!" Beth shouted, moving backwards a little so she was able to see both Daryl and Juliana.

In a swift movement, she lifted her hand and flipped the two of them off, waving it fiercely in Juliana and Daryl's faces. Juliana couldn't help but roll her eyes at Beth's outburst, but Daryl stepped forward, grabbing Beth by the wrist.

"Hey! You had your fun!"

She recoiled, yanking her arm away from him, "What the hell is wrong with you!? The both of you!" she shouted, looking between Daryl and Juliana before turning more of her attention to Daryl, "Do you feel anything!?"

Juliana took a small step in between Daryl and Beth, "Knock the shit off, Beth," she ordered. Beth, taken aback, looked as if she had swallowed whatever words she going to say before feeling Daryl's hand grasp her arm, gently pulling her back from between him and Beth. Seeing this, Beth got more courage to speak up, and all her anger and frustration was focused on Daryl now.

"Yeah, you think everything's screwed. I guess that's a feeling. So, you want to spend the rest of our lives staring into a fire and eating mud snakes?" she questioned, briefly glancing over to Juliana as she spoke.

"Screw. That," Beth emphasized each word as if Daryl wasn't able to understand her. She wanted to make sure that he understood her loud and clear, "We might as well do something! I can take care of myself, and I'm gonna get a damn drink!" she shouted, and walked off.

Juliana and Daryl watched her wander away again, and at this point, she was becoming more and more frustrated at Beth and at Daryl's silences that always followed her shouting at him. Now she wanted to find something to drink.

"Jesus, Daryl," Juliana cursed, turning to face him with a hand on her hip, "If I have to fuckin' run after Beth one more fuckin' time…" she cursed, cut off by Daryl placing a hand on her shoulder, pushing her in the direction Beth had gone.

"Just go," he grumbled, the two of them chasing after Beth once again.

* * *

The forest burst open into a large grass field, that had once been a golf course. The finely mowed area was now overgrown. A random golf cart lay haphazardly in the middle of the green, and the three of them stood out in the open. The club house was not too far away from where they stood.

"Golfers like to booze it up, right?" Beth questioned, looking between Daryl and Juliana.

Juliana offered her a shrug, holding onto her gun with both hands now. She had Daryl were a little more observant than Beth, noticing the small herd of walkers ambling towards them from across the green. Noticing this, Beth told them to 'come on', setting off towards the building ahead of them.

"Might be people inside," Beth suggested as they came to stop in front of the decaying, white building. Juliana could only imagine how pristine the white had been before, and now it was caked with dirt and mold on the edges. Leaves had accumulated in the gutters and in the creases of the roof. It was the definition of an abandoned building that if the end of the world hadn't happened, Juliana would have pictured in her mind.

Thunder rumbled in the distance as they wandered up the steps to the main doors of the building. A man was slumped against the wall, eyes still open, with a gaping gunshot wound to the face. Juliana cringed slightly as Beth pulled at the handles of the doors and Daryl rifled around in the pockets of the man for anything useful.

"Getting closer," Juliana muttered, causing Beth and Daryl to look in the direction of the little herd that was indeed, slowly wandering closer and closer to the group.

They moved around the back of the club house quickly, Daryl had armed himself with a club he had found from the golf cart. He lifted a finger to the girls, signaling them to wait and be quiet while he opened the back door to the building. When nothing jumped out at them, he quickly poked his head in just to make sure.

"Come on," he said.

Entering the building, he tossed the club to the side, sliding his crossbow off of her back and into his hands. Juliana had moved her gun at the ready position, holding it out in front of her now.

The inside of the club house was dark and musty. A mixture of unexplainable smells wafted through the air, clinging onto old pieces of clothing and curtains. Newspapers covered the windows from the inside, and had faded from the sunlight. The floor was covered with random pieces of clothing and furniture strewn everywhere, looking like at one point people had tried to set something up here. In front of them, three walkers were hanging from the ceiling; ropes around their necks. Juliana whispered 'shit' under her breath as Daryl reached for a flashlight on the ground, shining it in the direction of the three. It was then that Juliana noticed, as he was shining the light around, that more bodies were scattered around the room. She and Daryl exchanged glances, both visibly tense to be in the room.

She left Daryl to explore the room on her own, wandering closer to Beth who was picking at odds and ends on a table.

"Why are you keeping all that stuff?" she asked, causing Juliana to turn around to see Daryl shoving paper bills and gold jewelry into a leather bag.

He looked up at Beth and then to Juliana, his gaze lingering with her for a moment. As he stood, swinging the bag over his shoulder, a loud bang erupted from the backdoor, causing the three of them to jump in surprise. Daryl leapt up, motioning for the two of them to follow him through the two large doors on the opposite end of the room. Daryl rushed after Beth and Juliana, slamming the doors quickly behind the three.

Darkness engulfed them.

* * *

 **A/N: As promised, here is a list of songs that currently inspire this fanfic. Enjoy!**

 **Light - Sleeping at Last**  
 **Space Bound - Eminem**  
 **I'll Be Good - Jaymes Young**  
 **Mercy - Shawn Mendes**  
 **Broken Crown - Mumford and Sons**


	7. Damn Peach Schnapps

**07**

 **Damn Peach Schnapps**

* * *

Daryl clicked the flashlight he had found, back on. It illuminated the darkness, through it didn't eliminate their nervousness. He lead Juliana and Beth cautiously into a backroom. Juliana gripped the cold metal of her gun, and had to take her hand away at one point to wipe the clamminess from her palm to get a better grip. As the light flicked around the room, it became more obvious that it had once been a kitchen. Stacks of garbage were piled almost to the ceiling, thrown into the corners of the room. Pots and pans were scattered, with empty cans of food and bottles mixed in.

While she had become irritated by Beth, Juliana was confident in Daryl's ability to be okay on his own. When Beth began to wander into another room, she followed her quietly, using the faint light of the small flash light Beth had also picked up her guide to where she was headed.

Beth stopped in front of an open pantry, flicking the light upwards to the top shelf. "Beth," Juliana whispered harshly at her as Beth stepped over a dried-out walker who looked like they may have been trapped underneath some shelving. Beth continued, climbing up the shelves to reach the bottle. Pans clanged together, causing Juliana to tense, gripping her gun tighter.

Managing to get ahold of the bottle, she stepped back down, bottle of whatever alcohol it was in hand. With their backs turned, they both were caught off guard when a walker came ambling out from an open walk-in cooler. He caught Beth first, and she slammed down the bottle over his head. It shattered, spraying glass and a red liquid all over the floor. Beth kept the walker away as best as she could, striking him in the face again with the sharp edge of the broken bottle. She had begun to raise the butt of her gun to end the fight, when Daryl came up next to her. He reached out, pulling the butt of her gun down as Beth pulled out her knife, slamming it into the walker's eye socket.

"Thanks for the help," she panted.

Juliana shot a glance to Daryl who kept his eyes on Beth, "You said you could take care of yourself. You did." 

* * *

Downstairs the trio came upon what once was a gift shop. Of course, the main staples were brightly colored polo shirts and khaki pants. Juliana wandered away from Beth and Daryl as they browsed the gift shop. It wasn't her style; too bright and clean for her tastes. Looking over her shoulder, she watched as Beth took a bright yellow polo and white cardigan off their hangers, a small smile on her face as she went to change in the small fitting room.

Shifting her attention to Daryl, she watched as he mashed the buttons on the cash register, shaking it slightly to get it to open up.

"Make you should buy it dinner first," she teased, cocking an eyebrow in his direction. Daryl only responded to her with a grunt, stepping back from the register. He lifted the flash light up, scanning it around the room an old corpse came into view. She was strung up onto the wall, her shirt ripped open and a sign that said: RICH BITCH, around her neck. She had been cut in half at the waist and her upper body placed on the lower half of a mannequin.

Beth moved to the woman, trying to pull her body off of the stand, "Help me take her down."

Juliana slid her gun so it rested on her back and stepped forward. Of all the things that they had all seen, this bothered her. She tried not to think of the torture that this woman probably endured, or what she was thinking of as she started to slip away.

"It don't matter," Daryl said, watching as Juliana and Beth started to move the upper half of the body, "She's dead."

"It does matter," Juliana told him, staring him down thoroughly the dimly lit room. Daryl cast his eyes downward, looking away from her. When she turned her gaze away and looked to Beth, the two of them exchanged smiles, finally coming to some sort of understanding between the two of them.

Unfortunately, the woman was stuck on there, and no matter how much they pulled or tried to move her around, she wouldn't budge.

"Here," Daryl muttered, stepping forward with a large cloth, draping it over the woman's body. It wasn't exactly what they were trying to achieve, but it helped, and they left the shop to go back the way they came.

A clock chimed in the hallway, causing them all to look around in fear that more walkers would pop out from places they hadn't checked yet. Daryl nudged them all forward, and as they peered in a room, two walkers wailed from the opposite end of the room. "Come on!" Daryl hissed. Juliana cursed under her breath as they pressed forward, only to be met with more walkers coming from the other direction. Cursing under her breath, they took off down the hallway and into what was a locker room.

The walkers had followed.

Juliana quickly slid her gun off from around her shoulders, knowing that it would be a bad idea to fire any rounds in here. Daryl had already slammed the end of his crossbow into one's skull before dropping it and picking up a golf club on the ground. Juliana used the butt of her gun, striking the face of another as hard as she could.

He took care of the last walker, using the club again he smacked it until it fell to the ground. It groaned and snapped in his direction, and instead of hitting it in the head he continued to play with it, as if he were the cat and the walker were the mouse.

"Daryl," Juliana called out quietly, "Daryl!" she repeated, louder this time. Daryl continued his onslaught, finally hitting the head of the walker so hard, it exploded, splattering on Beth's new clothes she had found. Nothing was said between the three of them, and as Beth turned to take off the blood-stained cardigan, Juliana and Daryl looked over at each other, and she couldn't help but feel oddly disappointed in him.

Finally making it into the bar felt like a weight lifted off of Juliana's shoulders. If this was all Beth wanted, they could finally be done with this place and move on.

While Beth moved behind the bar, Juliana slid up onto a barstool, setting the gun down on the counter amidst broken bottles and garbage. She leaned forwards carefully, brushing away some of the glass that was in her way before she laid her forearms down. She watched as Beth rifled around, finally pulling up a half empty bottle of something clear. She smiled widely at Juliana and made her way back around the counter, sitting down next to her.

"Have you drink yet?" Daryl asked, still rummaging through tables and shoving valuables into his bag.

"No. But I found this!" she placed the bottle on the counter in between her and Juliana, "Peach schnapps. Is it good?"

"No." Both Daryl and Juliana answered in unison.

She sighed, "Well, it's the only thing that's left."

Daryl busied himself at throwing darts at the picture of a group of rich, white guys on the wall while Juliana and Beth peeked into cups and glasses, trying to find a clean one. Beth tried to clean out a cup to no avail before giving up, "Who needs a glass?" she said to herself.

Juliana watched Beth carefully, noticing how she hesitated to open it up. Licking her lips, she finally mustered up the courage and grabbed at the bottle, dragging it closer to her. She played with the cap, slightly unscrewing the top before stopping. Her lip began to quiver, and Juliana's heart began to break. For as much annoying shit Beth had done these past days, they had been through a lot together, and Beth had just lost her father.

"Beth," Juliana whispered quietly. Beth didn't look up at Juliana as she began to cry. Looking over her shoulder to Daryl, an expression of worry on her face, she noted that Daryl had been watching; assessing the situation.

He came over quickly, yanking the bottle off of the counter and smashed it into the ground. "Ain't gonna have your first drink be no damned peach schnapps." He told her, making his way over to a side door and opened it up, "Come on." He told the two of them.

Wiping the tears from her face, Beth got up and Juliana followed, pulling the gun from the counter and slipping the strap around her shoulder again. As she followed after Beth out the door, she stopped for a moment, giving Daryl's upper arm a squeeze and offered him a soft smile. She knew what he had done. Daryl, of course, only stared down through his shaggy hair at Juliana for that moment until she stepped out into the sunshine.

Once again, they traveled on.


	8. Little Bit of Moonshine

**08**

 **Little Bit of Moonshine**

* * *

"What did you do?" Beth asked, stepping in tune with Juliana as Daryl lead the way, "You know, before."

"Not much," Juliana answered honestly, holding her gun at the ready in front of her as they stomped through the timber again. Daryl seemed like he had an idea of where he was going.

"Oh come on," Beth nudged at Juliana with her elbow, smiling softly, "Everybody did something!"

Sighing, she turned her head slightly in Beth's direction, "A waitress."

"Oh," Beth downcast her eyes, looking as if she had expected more of a profession out of Juliana. She forced a smile, "I mean that's not-" Juliana cut her off.

"It was a shit job, Beth. I was doing it to get through school."

"What for?"

Juliana grimaced a little at her answer, "Art." Even now, at the end of the world, her mentioning being an art major received a scoff from Daryl.

"I don't take you much for an artist," he commented, turning his head briefly over his shoulder. She caught his glance and couldn't help but smirk at him.

"You don't know a lot about me, Dixon," Juliana teased.

Beth grinned at their interaction, "I think it sounds cool!" she paused a moment, motioning to Daryl who was still ahead of the two of them, "What do you think he did?" she asked Juliana, who offered her a shrug.

"A motorcycle mechanic!" Beth suggested.

"Huh?" Daryl slowed a tad, dropping back so the two of them were able to catch up with him, each one on either side of him.

"That's my guess for what you were doing before the turn. Did Zack ever guess that one?"

"It don't matter," he mumbled in reply. "Hasn't mattered for a long time."

"It's just what people talk about, you know, to feel normal."

"Yeah, well, that never felt normal to me," he commented. Juliana glanced over to Daryl at his comment, and he must have felt his eyes on her because he shifted his gaze over to her as they continued on through the timber. She and Daryl had a strange understanding between the two of them. He had mentioned when she first showed up at the prison that he thought she was 'pretty tough' for having survived on her own. Though, in Daryl fashion, he finished his compliment by insinuating that she was probably just lucky and didn't have any actual skills. She had assumed she had ended up proving him wrong, because his comments stopped, and the two of them often paired up to scavenge. They both liked the quiet.

The trees broke out into tall, overgrown grasses finally. To her right, Juliana spotted a small dilapidated house.

"Found this place with Michonne," Daryl said.

Beth squinted in the sunlight in the direction of the house, "I was expecting a liquor store."

"No, this is better," he assured.

Coming up to the house, she couldn't help but be reminded of her mother's house. While she was a gigantic, obese woman, before she became bedridden she was quite the hoarder. Piles of junk were stacked inside and outside. Even in the ruins of the house, it looked like what she had lived in. Juliana crinkled her nose in disgust at the memory as they investigated. Behind the house, was a trailer with a shed next to it. Daryl didn't hesitate to open up the door to that shed, which held none other than an old moonshine operation.

Stepping in, he collected a few mason jars full of alcohol as she and Beth looked on from outside.

"What's that?" Beth questioned, peering inside the shed.

"Moonshine," Juliana told her as Daryl lifted a crate with mason jars full of the clear alcohol. He handed it over to Beth, who couldn't suppress a smile as he brushed past the two of them, mumbling at them to 'come on', following him up to the house.

The trio entered the run-down trailer. Juliana and Daryl were careful to check to make sure there were no walkers lurking in the small, abandoned trailer. Thankfully there weren't any, and she helped Beth set the heavy crate of moonshine down on an old table before taking a tour around the trailer.

"Looks like my momma's house," she said to herself, flicking through some old magazines on a side table.

Daryl had found some decently clean glasses and placed one out for Beth who had sat down at the table in front of him. He poured her only a shot's worth of moonshine, placing the glass in front of her to take.

"That's a real first drink right there."

Beth stared at the glass, hesitant again. Juliana pulled up a chair from across the room, spinning it around so she could rest her forearms on the back of the chair and straddled it. "What's the matter?" Juliana asked.

"Nothing," Beth replied, quickly looking over to Juliana. "It's just.." her voice trailed off for a moment, and Juliana and Daryl exchanged looks between the two of them before Beth continued, "..my dad always said bad moonshine can make you go blind."

"Ain't nothin' worth seein' out there anymore anyway," Daryl said, in his way of reassuring her that it was okay to drink.

Swallowing, Beth lifted the glass to her lips and took a small drink and cringed as the moonshine hit her tongue. Juliana grinned at her expression, her head laying on her folded arms and turned to watch Beth.

"That's the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted!"

Boldly, she finished off the rest of the shot, forcing herself to swallow the liquid. "Second round's better," Beth said with a chuckle, reaching for the open jar of moonshine.

"Slow down," Juliana urged, lifting her head from the previous position she had been in.

"This one's for you," she told her with a smile and motioned to Daryl again, "and you."

"No, I'm good," he mumbled, shifting uncomfortably back and forth. Juliana sat up a little straighter as Beth poured another drink and she noted Daryl's change in demeanor. If there was something she hadn't shared with the group, it was that she had been a raging alcoholic. It was something she struggled with, and was her own secret. But now, as she watched Daryl, she could tell something had triggered him as well.

"Same," Juliana muttered.

"Why?" Beth questioned, eyes wide as she looked between the two of them, upset that they had both refused her offer of a drink.

"Someone's gotta keep watch," Daryl told her.

"So, what, you're like my chaperone now?"

"Just drink lots of water," he said, walking past Juliana and Beth at the table.

"Yes, Mr. Dixon," Beth sassed.

Daryl ignored her and began to hammer up pieces of old curtains and whatever else he could find, to cover up the windows.

"Jules," he said to her, hammer in hand, "Come help me." Juliana let out a sigh, pushing herself off from the chair. She slipped her gun off from around her shoulders, setting it up against the doorframe of the entrance and wandered over to help Daryl put up covers on the windows.

A giggle from Beth made the two of them turn around as Beth pulled out an ashtray that was shaped like a giant bra.

"Who'd go into a store and walk out with this?" she grinned, amused by the ashtray she had found.

"My dad, that's who," Daryl said. His comment made Beth shrink back a little at his comment, "Oh, he's a dumbass. He'd set those up top of the TV set, use them as target practice."

"He shot things inside your house?" Beth asked incredulously.

Daryl shrugged, "It was just a bunch of junk anyway." He paused, "That's how I knew what this place was. That shed out there, my dad had a place just like this." He motioned to a shitty chair, "You got your dumpster chair..that's for sittin' in your drawers all summer drinkin'." Next, he motioned to a few buckets next to the chair, "Got your fancy buckets..that's for spittin' chaw in after your old lady tells you to stop smokin'." He picked up an old paper that was around the magazines Juliana had flipped through earlier, picking one up, "You got your internet…" he told her before dropping the paper on the ground.

A walker groaned at that moment. Juliana and Daryl peered out of the broken window to see one shuffle by outside, stopping right outside of the window they were looking out of.

"Just one of them," Juliana said, stepping back from the window.

"Should we get it?" Beth asked, standing up.

Juliana shrugged, looking to Daryl before back to Beth, "If he keeps makin' too much noise, yeah."

"Well," Beth started, grabbing at a mason jar, "If we're gonna be trapped again we might as well make the best of it." She held the jar out in the direction of Daryl and Juliana, offering them a drink again, "Unless you're too busy chaperoning, Mr. Dixon. Jules."

"Hell," he started, taking the jar from her hand, "might as well make the best of it." With the jar in hand, he sat down on the camo chair, settling down into it as he unscrewed the lid off of the jar. "Home sweet home," Daryl said, taking a drink before holding it out to Juliana. "Drink?" he asked.

Juliana held out her hand, shaking her head. Figuring now would be as good a time as any, she reached into her jeans pocket, pulling out the Alcoholics Anonymous chip she had kept on her this whole time, flashing it at the two of them, "Tryin' to stay sober," she told them. Beth looked to Daryl, confused about what the chip what, but Juliana knew that Daryl fully comprehended what it was. He stared at he strangely; looking at her in a way he hadn't before. It made goosebumps run up the back of her arms, and she cleared her throat to break the stare, stuffing the chip back into her pocket.


	9. The Breakdown

**09**

 **The Breakdown**

* * *

A couple hours later, the three of them had settled down in a semicircle on the floor. Daryl and Beth were still drinking, but from time to time Daryl would ask Juliana if she was okay. Beth would giggle and assure Daryl that Juliana was, though Daryl and Juliana knew Beth still had no idea why he was asking her this. She had to admit, she found it endearing.

"Okay," Beth started, "So first I say something I've never done and if you have done it, you drink," she looked over to Juliana, "Or raise your hand, and if I haven't, I drink. Then we switch." Juliana gave her a thumbs up. It was a game she was far too familiar with, but Daryl stared at Beth blankly.

"You really don't know this game?"

"I never needed a game to get lit before," Daryl told her, making Juliana smirk slightly at his comment.

"..Wait. Are we starting?" Beth blinked.

"How do you know this game?" Juliana questioned.

"My friend's played. I watched," she told her. Shaking her head and clearing her throat she began, "Okay. I'll start. I've never shot a crossbow. So now you drink." Juliana had raised her hand and Daryl just continued to give Beth odd looks.

"Ain't much of a game," he said, taking a swig of moonshine.

"That was a warm up. Now you go."

"I don't know," he mumbled, his hand at his mouth as he chewed at his finger nails.

"Just say the first thing that pops in your head," Beth told him.

"I've never been out of Georgia."

"Really? Okay, good one."

Juliana raised her hand, and if she could, she would have taken a shot. Beth looked over to her as she finished up taking a drink.

"Where did you say you came from, Jules?" she asked.

"Tennessee," Juliana reminded her.

Beth nodded, "Your turn," she told Juliana. Juliana shifted, adjusting her legs as she sat crossed-legged on the floor.

"I've never ridden a horse," she said, pulling one from out of her ass. Beth smiled a took a drink. Daryl didn't.

"I've never…been drunk and did something I regretted." Juliana shrunk back, watching as Daryl took a drink. She didn't want to raise her hand.

"I've done a lot of things," he said, looking over at Juliana as he finished his drink.

"Your turn," Beth reminded Daryl.

He rubbed his chin, thinking for a moment, "I've never been on vacation."

"What about camping?"

"No, that was just something I had to learn to hunt."

"Your dad teach you?" Juliana asked, trying to shake the previous question Beth had asked by changing the subject.

"Mm-hmm."

"Okay!" Beth said, almost too cheerily, taking another drink.

Juliana stood, wiping her hands on the back of her jeans as she did so. Noticing Beth's mouth was open, like she was about to speak, she cut her off before she could say anything.

"You and Daryl finish the game. I'll sit this one out." Juliana moved to the window, arms crossed and back turned to the two of them.

"I've never…" Beth began again, "..been in jail. I mean, as a prisoner."

Juliana could feel the sudden tension in the room and turned around, arms still crossed. Daryl was staring Beth down.

"Is that what you think of me?"

Beth shook her head, "I didn't mean anything serious. I just thought, you know, like the drunk tank. Even my dad got locked up for that back in the day."

"Drink up."

"Wait. Prison guard!" Beth exclaimed. "Were you a prison guard before?"

His eyes flicked up for a moment to Juliana before focusing back at Beth. She could tell he was becoming agitated.

"No."

"It's your turn again."

Daryl stood, slamming his hand down on the little table that was in between the him and Beth, "I'm gonna take a piss," Daryl grumbled, sauntering over to the far end of the room. Tipsy, he stumbled a little, dropping the glass jar as he undid the zipper to his jeans.

"You have to be quiet!" Beth hissed at him.

"Can't hear ya, I'm takin' a piss!" Daryl replied loudly back. Juliana glanced out the window again, watching as the single walker let out a moan, becoming riled up.

"Daryl, don't talk so loud!" Beth pleaded.

"What, are you my chaperone now!?" As he finished up taking a piss, he zipped up his jeans, turning around, "Oh wait, it's my turn, right?"

Juliana took a step forwards, mouth open and about to speak, but Daryl held out a hand to her, focusing instead on Beth.

"I've never..never eaten frozen yogurt. Never had a pet pony. Never got nothin' from Santa Claus!" he hit the chair Beth had been sitting in earlier. It tipped backwards but didn't fall. Juliana and Beth stared at Daryl in silence; Beth far more afraid of him than Juliana was.

Daryl continued, "Never relied on anyone for protection before! Hell, I don't think I've ever relied on anyone for anything!" He yelled, his voice louder than it had been before.

"Daryl.." Juliana spoke up, only getting a sideways glance from him before he kept going.

"Never sung in front of a big group out in public like everything was fun! Like everything was a big game!" he turned away from her for a moment before whipping back around, making a cutting motion with his hands at one of his wrist, practically in her face now, "I sure as hell never cut my wrists lookin' for attention!"

The walker made a thud against the trailer. Daryl stomped over to his crossbow, "Sounds like our friend out there is tryin' to call all of his buddies!" he kicked at some old tins cans that were in his way, and Juliana started over to him.

"Daryl, shut up!" she hissed. Daryl glared at her as he grabbed a hold of his crossbow, brushing past Juliana and over to Beth.

"Hey, you've never shot a crossbow before? I'm gonna teach you right now!" he grabbed Beth's wrist, yanking her up from her sitting position from the floor, "Come on! It's gonna be fun!" Juliana cursed under her breath as Daryl drug Beth outside, racing after them and down the steps. Juliana rounded the corner just as Daryl shot an arrow into the shoulder of the walker, pinning him to the side of the shed.

"Daryl!" Juliana yelled, grabbing at his shoulder. He shrugged her off roughly, wrapping an arm around Beth to keep her in place as she protested and he put the crossbow in front of her. The shuffling around made him miss and Beth was frantic, looking to Juliana for help.

"Let's practice later!" Beth shouted at him as Daryl readjusted his crossbow and grabbed at Beth again, pulling her back to him.

"Daryl!" Juliana shouted again, "Knock this shit off!"

Daryl was far too busy having his tantrum between him and Beth to notice Juliana run up to the walker, grabbing an old, rusty trowel from off the ground next to her, plunging it into the walker's head before Beth could manage to.

"What the hell you do that for?! I was havin' fun!" he shouted at Juliana, throwing up his arms at her.

"No!" she shouted back, "You were being a jackass!"

Beth interjected after Juliana, "If anyone found my dad-"

Daryl cut her off, turning away from Juliana and back to Beth, pointing a finger in her face, "Don't! That ain't remotely the same!"

"Killing them is not supposed to be fun!"

"What do you want from me, girl? Huh?!" he yelled back at her.

"I want you to stop actin' like you don't give a crap about anything!"

Juliana had stepped away from the two of them. It was pointless to get involved in their screaming match. But as Beth spewed her words at him, she could have sworn Daryl looked over at her for the briefest of seconds before he turned his full attention back to Beth as she kept on yelling at him, "..Like nothing we went through matters! Like..none of the people we lost meant anything to you! It's bullshit!"

"Is that what you think?"

"That's what I know!"

His eyes flicked over to Juliana again for just a second, then back to Beth, "You don't know nothin'."

"I know you look at me and you just see another dead girl," Beth spat, pushing her tangled blonde hair out of her eyes, "I'm not Michonne. I'm not Carol. I'm not Maggie. I'm not Jules. I survived and you don't get it 'cause I'm not like you or them, but I made it! And you don't get to treat me like crap just because you're afraid!"

Daryl stepped closer to Beth, leaning in slightly, "I ain't afraid of nothin'."

"I remember," Beth began, shaking slightly from the emotions that ran through her, "When that little girl came out of the barn after my mom. You were like me." Daryl turned his head away from her.

"And now God forbid you ever let anybody get to close!"

Daryl turned back around, "Close, huh? You know all about that! You lost two boyfriends, you can't even shed a tear! Your whole family's gone, all you can do is just go out looking for hooch like some dumb college bitch!" he yelled, throwing his arms around in anger. Juliana finally decided to step up next to Beth's side, placing herself somewhat in between the two of them.

"Screw you! You don't get it!" Beth cried at him from a little ways behind Juliana.

"No you don't get it!" Daryl bellowed, knocking shoulders with Juliana as he spun around, pointing his finger in Beth's face. Juliana held out her hand, placing it against Daryl's chest to keep him from getting any closer to Beth, "Everyone we know is dead!"

Juliana finally stepped out, placing herself fully in between Beth and Daryl, "You don't know that!" she hissed.

"Might as well be!" his eyes went back and forth between Juliana and Beth who he could just barely see from behind Juliana's shoulder, "'Cause we ain't ever gonna see them again! Rick." He paused, now focusing more of his attention on Juliana, "She ain't ever gonna see Maggie again!"

He turned away again, and Juliana reached out, grabbing at his arm, "Daryl, just stop!" she shouted at him. He yanked his arm away from her reach with a loud 'no!' With his back turned, Juliana could hear his voice break as he spoke, and she didn't need to see his face to know how he was feeling.

"The Governor rolled right up to our gates..maybe if I wouldn't have stopped lookin'..maybe 'cause I gave up. That's on me!"

Juliana took a step forward, reaching out to him again, "Daryl.."

"No," he choked out, voice breaking as he pulled away from her again. Beth looked on from behind them, tears welling in the corners of her eyes.

"And her dad..maybe..maybe I could have done somethin'." Juliana moved forwards, wrapping her arms around his waist as she heard his voice breaking with emotion. She held on tight, pressing her cheek into the worn leather of his vest. She could feel his body shake with sobs. His head and shoulders slumped in defeat. Who would have thought the girl who had led her and Daryl on a wild goose chase for booze, could break down his walls so easily.


	10. Burn it Down

**10**

 **Burn it Down**

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! If you're enjoying this, make sure you leave a quick review/comment! Would you want a really long fanfiction or broken up into two separate stories? There's a couple ways I see Juliana's story going, but this all depends. Thanks again!  
**

* * *

Darkness came quickly. Cicadas and nocturnal bugs called through the dark. It was funny to think that not too long ago, a lot of the sounds they could hear now, they couldn't hear before. Every flutter of a leaf that fell to the ground, a twig snapping somewhere in the woods, the wind whistling through the canopy; it was all so much louder now.

They had moved to the house that sat in front of the trailer, settling themselves in the screened in porch. Beth was sitting with her back up against a support beam next to the door. Daryl and Juliana sat next to each other across from Beth, with the moon illuminating each of them so they were still able to see each other.

"I get why my dad stopped drinking," Beth mused out loud, looking over at the two of them. Juliana was sitting cross-legged, picking at the frayed ends of her boot laces.

"You feel sick?" Juliana asked, glancing up for a moment.

"Nope," she paused, "I wish I could feel like this all the time. That's bad."

Juliana huffed at her comment, lowering her eyes from Beth to continue picking at her laces, "You're lucky you're a happy drunk," she mumbled.

"Yeah I'm lucky..some people can be real jerks when they drink," she teased, trying to lighten the mood between the three of them.

"Yeah, I'm a dick when I'm drunk," Daryl admitted. He had been holding his knife, and was now carving random lines into a beam in front of him lazily. It only lasted a few moments before he lowered it to his side. "Merle had this dealer," he began. Juliana lifted her head to look over at Beth. Merle had been Daryl's brother until The Governor killed him and he turned. Both she and Beth knew Merle and Daryl had a rocky relationship, but it didn't change the fact that he had lost his brother.

He continued on, "..This janky little white guy. A tweaker. One day we were over at his house, watching TV..wasn't even noon yet and we were all wasted. Merle was high. We were watchin' this show, and Merle was talkin' all this dumb stuff about it; and he wouldn't let up..Merle never could," he exhaled, "Turns out it was the tweaker's kid's favorite show, and he never sees his kids, so he felt guilty about it or somethin'. So he punches Merle in the face," Daryl made a single punching motion with a balled up fist, "So I started hittin' the tweaker, like, hard..as hard as I can. Then he pulls a gun, and sticks it right here," with his opposite hand he lifted up two fingers to the side of his head and then dropped his hand to his side, "He says, "I'm gonna kill you, bitch." So Merle pulls his gun on him. Everyone's yellin'..I'm yellin'. I thought I was dead. Over a dumb cartoon about a talkin' dog," his voice trailed off finally.

"How'd you get out of it?" Beth asked.

"The tweaker punched me in the gut..I puked. They both started laughin' and forgot all about it." He paused, picking at slivers of the boards of wood that made up the floor, "You wanna know what I was before all this?" he looked at Beth, then to Juliana and back to Beth, "I was just driftin' around with Merle…doin' whatever he said we were gonna be doin' that day." He drifted off into his own thoughts, rolling his head back to Juliana's direction again.

"I was nobody," he said, peering at her through the dark, "Nothin'. Some redneck asshole, and an even bigger asshole for a brother."

"You miss him?" Juliana asked softly. Daryl just stared back at her.

"I miss Maggie," Beth said, "I miss her bossing me around," she giggled a little at the memory, having the attention of both Daryl and Juliana by now, "I miss my big brother, Shawn. He was so annoying and overprotective." Another small laugh escaped her, but the memories were quickly washed away soon after.

"And my dad," she added, "Who do you miss?" she asked Juliana.

Shrugging, she drew her legs up to her chest, "My dog," her answer received a small smile from Beth.

"Lucky dog," Daryl mused quietly.

Juliana smiled slightly at Daryl's comment before turning her attention back to Beth. "Herschel was a good man, Beth. The best."

She nodded, "I thought," her voice drifted for a minute and returned as she gathered her thoughts, "I hoped he'd just live the rest of his life in peace, ya know? I thought Maggie and Glenn would have a baby and he'd get to be a grandpa. And we'd have birthdays and holidays and summer picnics," she swallowed, trying to keep her emotions in check, "And he'd get really old..and it'd happen, but it'd be quiet. It'd be okay. He'd be surrounded by people he loved." She let out a short laugh, swallowing hard. Juliana's eyebrows furrowed with concern as a cry left Beth's lips.

"That's how unbelievably stupid I am," she choked out, grabbing a jar of moonshine next to her and took a drink.

Juliana kicked out her legs from their drawn up position and slide carefully over next to Beth, wrapping her arm around her shoulder after she had finished her drink. She drew Beth in for a side hug, and she accepted, sniffling as she rested her head against Juliana's chest. Juliana placed her hand on the side of Beth's head, stroking her hair comfortingly.

"That's how it was supposed to be," Juliana whispered to her.

Beth let out a heavy sigh, pulling away from Juliana. Pulling her arm away from Beth's shoulders, she watched as Beth roughly rubbed the tears away from her face.

"I wish I could just…change," Beth said, looking at both Juliana and Daryl.

"You did," Daryl told her. His comment made Juliana look over at him. She could faintly see his features were softer in the dark, and it made her heart jump.

"Not enough," Beth interjected, "Not like you or Jules. It's like you two were made for how things are now."

"We're used to it," Juliana started, "..things being ugly." Daryl nodded in agreement at her.

"Growin' up in a place like this," he added.

"Well, you got away from it."

"I didn't."

"You did," Beth assured him.

"Maybe you gotta keep on remindin' me sometimes."

"No," Beth drew out the 'o', "You can't depend on anybody for anything, right?" she echoed his words, and silence fell between them. "I'll be gone someday."

"Stop," Juliana hissed at her.

"I will," Beth turned to look at Juliana next to her, "You and Daryl..you'll be the last two standing."

Juliana swallowed hard, quickly looking away from her. It wasn't something she had thought about, or something she wanted to think about. Frankly, Juliana wasn't sure if she wanted to suffer through the end of the world until she was old and grey, but she wasn't about to tell Beth that.

"You are!"

Another silence fell between the three of them again.

"You're gonna miss me so bad when I'm gone, Daryl Dixon."

"You ain't a happy drunk at all," Daryl said.

"Yeah I'm happy, I'm just not blind. You gotta stay who you are, not who you were," Beth placed a hand on Juliana's arm to get her attention back, letting her know that she was talking to her to.

"Places like this…you have to put it away," she told him, referring to the house and trailer.

"What if you can't?" Juliana asked, peering over at Beth.

"You have to. Or it kills you."

Juliana and Daryl looked at each other through the dark. Though they both grew up in different places and under different circumstances, it was starting to become clear that she and Daryl had much more in common than they had anticipated.

"We should go inside," he suggested.

"We should burn it down!" Was Beth's suggestion.

Daryl stood, yanking an almost empty moonshine jar off of the porch as he made his way to the door. Juliana and Beth looked at each other, thinking that Daryl was going to disagree with Beth's insane idea.

"We're gonna need more booze," he told her, standing at the doorway. A smile lit up Beth's face, and Juliana grinned back at her. Standing, Juliana offered a hand to Beth, who took it, and helped her stand. They wandered back into the house where Daryl was already slinging jars of alcohol around the room. It didn't take Beth or Juliana any time to get in on the action, unscrewing the lids from jars and sloshing it around the counters and tables and walls.

Following Daryl out, they made a line of booze out of the doorway so they were standing a few feet away.

"You wanna?" Daryl asked Beth, handing her a matchbook.

"Hell yeah," Beth grinned, taking the matches from him. She struck a match, and it crackled as it caught on fire. Daryl held out a stack of money for her to light and tossed it onto the porch. The trio started to wander off away from the fire as it spread. Daryl tossed another empty jar into the house, and Juliana heard as it crashed onto the floor.

Shifting her gun onto her shoulder, she stalled with the other two as they stopped to watch the trailer burn. Beth lifted her middle finger in the air. She nudged at Daryl, who in turn, nudged Juliana, and they also lifted their middle fingers in the air. It was a big 'fuck you' to their pasts.

Noticing a handful of walkers attracted to the fire, Juliana gently grabbed at Beth's arm, motioning for her to come. The three of them left the blazing fire behind them, and for once, there was a mutual hope among the group.


	11. Good Guy

**11**

 **Good Guy**

* * *

They had stopped to rest for the night once Daryl felt they were far enough away from the fire to not met any wandering walkers who were drawn to the light. Beth passed out as soon as her butt hit the ground; head slumped sideways as she sat with her back up against a broad tree. Daryl had started a small fire, just enough to keep them somewhat warm through the night.

"I'll take first watch," Juliana told Daryl just as he went to grab for his crossbow, "You and Beth need to rest."

He shrugged off her comment, grabbing a hold of his crossbow anyways, "I'm fine."

"No," Juliana insisted, staring him down from across the dim light that the fire emitted, "Rest, Dixon. I got this."

Daryl was hesitant. He shifted back and forth until he decided to settle down onto the ground. Setting his crossbow down next to him, he yanked his pack to him, shoving it underneath his head and laid down, stretching his legs out in front of him. Juliana quietly turned away from him, though she could tell something was brewing on his mind.

"Why didn't you tell us?" he inquired. Juliana turned her head over her left shoulder, noting that his head was turned in her direction.

"I did."

"Not before," Daryl grumbled. Turning on her heel back to him, a heavy sigh escaped her lips as she watched him carefully.

"What did you want me to say, Dixon? 'Hey, I used to be a ragin' alcoholic, but it's cool 'cause I'm over it now!'" She huffed, running a hand through her dark hair, "That ain't how it works, and you know it."

Daryl was silent, chewing on his bottom lip. Shifting the gun behind her back, she stepped around to where Beth had dragged over a sizeable, flat-ish rock to sit on. Juliana plopped down, folding her hands together, "Herschel knew," she told him, "Maybe it's some..alcoholics anonymous connection, but he could tell." She picked up a twig off the ground and began to snap it into small pieces mindlessly as she continued, "I asked him not to tell, and he didn't. No one else needed to know. It wasn't important."

"It is," he said, sitting up.

"Why?" Juliana questioned, narrowing her eyes at him, "So you could be prepared in case I had too much to drink and went on some fuckin' rampage?" Anger boiled up in her suddenly, but when she noticed Beth stirring she quickly lowered her voice. "Don't worry," she hissed, "I was a happy drunk."

Daryl watched her through hooded eyes. As exhausted as he looked, he hadn't fallen asleep yet. Juliana wasn't sure if Daryl even actually slept ever.

"Burn it," he said, motioning to her pocket. Juliana glanced down to her front pocket where she kept the chip. Her hand wandered to the front of her jeans, and she placed it on front of the pocket.

"I can't."

"Shit," he grumbled, "You ain't that same person you were then. I ain't." his gaze wandered over to a sleeping Beth before turning his attention back to Juliana, "She ain't."

Swallowing, Juliana reached into her front pocket, pulling out the small chip. She played with it between her fingers, running her thumb along the engraved words. Her head dropped as she held the chip in her hand, now closing her palm around it. With a single motion, she tossed it into the fire. The flames licked at the chip, cracking as it began to burst into a blue color. The words began to fade and then the entire thing began to melt.

"You're a tough son of a bitch."

Lifting her head, she studied him. Daryl Dixon was an interesting man. When they had first met, Juliana had literally run into him coming out of her cell when she first arrived at the prison. Daryl cursed her out before he realized he had no idea who she was. Juliana was filthy, covered in God knows what, and he had made some smart comment about how bad she smelled and to watch where she was going.  
She never considered herself to have any sort of strong relationship with anyone from the group aside from Carol. She found her refreshing. But when she found out Rick had banished Carol after she had admitted to burning two of the sick; she was pissed. It was something that had brought her and Daryl closer, oddly enough, and the two of them ended up going out on more runs together.

"You're a good guy, Dixon."

He shrugged, as if he were trying to avoid her compliment. Juliana stood, taking a few steps over to him. Leaning down, she placed a hand on either side of his face and pressed her lips against his forehead. As she pulled away, she said again, "You're good," and dropped her hands, stepping backwards away from him. He avoided her eye contact, instead focusing on the dancing flames in front of him.

"I'll wake ya' up in a few," Juliana told him, grabbing the butt of the gun and pulled it around to her front, moving away from him and back to the rock to settle down for a few hours on watch.

Daryl waited a few minutes before he shuffled back down onto the ground, resting his head back onto the pack her was using as a makeshift pillow. It didn't take him long to drift off to sleep, and Juliana was left alone in the silence with only the sounds of the crackling fire and soft snores from Daryl and Beth to keep her company.


	12. Used to be Someone

**12**

 **Used to be Someone**

* * *

 **A/N: Just wanted to give a quick update! I'm sure many of you who are in university know classes start next week. This includes me! I attend a school that goes by terms, so it is extremely fast paced and pretty intense with homework, so updates may slow. I will try to do updates once a week on the weekends if I am able. I also want to remind you to PLEASE REVIEW! I like to read them. :)**

 **Thanks!**

* * *

The temperature had dropped drastically overnight. They had managed to take down a couple of aimlessly wandering walkers to take their warmer clothing. While it was an uncomfortable feeling; taking the clothing off the dead, they needed to do it to survive, and for that reason, it was acceptable.

As daylight broke, a fog settled low on the ground giving their surroundings an eerie atmosphere. Daryl was teaching an eager Beth how to track and handle his crossbow most of the morning. Juliana fell back from the two of them, more alert than normal because of the fog.

"It's got a gun," she heard Beth say as she and Daryl stopped just before a small clearing. She settled the end of the crossbow on her shoulder, carefully stepping forwards towards the walker she had spotted. Juliana came up next to Daryl, watching Beth move stealthily in the direction of the walker who was on his knees, gnawing at something in his hands.

A sudden snap caused Beth to fall, and gained the walkers attention. Crying out she took aim at the walker, the arrow lodging itself into his mouth, but missing his brain as he let out a groan, focusing his attention on Beth. Daryl acted quickly, running out to her and yanked the crossbow from her hands, disposing of the walker with a quick blow to the head. Juliana ran to Beth, sliding on her knees up next to her, she tossed her gun to the side, pulling at the small trap that Beth had caught her heel in. Juliana dug her fingers into the rusted metal, pulling hard at it until it finally popped loose, freeing her foot.

"Can you move it?" Juliana asked, eyes filled with worry as she gingerly held her foot in her hand. By then, Daryl had come back to them, down on his knees in between the two women.

Beth grimaced, moving her foot slowly back and forth slowly at first and then rolled her ankle, making sure that it wasn't broken. Juliana dropped her hand from Beth's foot, "Yeah," Beth told her with a nod. When she stood it was another story. Her limp resulted in her using Daryl as a personal crutch, but they pressed on, looking for somewhere safer to rest.

While it was slow going due to Beth's injury, the woods opened into a large open field scattered with tombstones. A large, white house loomed in the distance as they came to a stop, Beth hopping away from Daryl as she lifted her leg up, trying to alleviate the pain.

"You okay?" Juliana asked her.

Beth nodded, "I just need to sit down."

"Alight," Daryl let out a heavy sigh, sliding his crossbow over his chest. He moved to stand in front of Beth, bending slightly at the waist, "Hop on."

Beth and Juliana exchanged confused looks, "Are you serious?" Beth wondered.

"Yeah. This is a serious piggyback. Jump up."

Juliana couldn't help but grin at Daryl's 'serious piggyback' offer to Beth, but Beth didn't decline. Placing her hands on either side of his shoulder, she awkwardly hopped up, using her good foot to press up from the ground. Daryl let out a large sigh, reaching back to wrap his hands around Beth's legs, adjusting her body so she sat a little better on his back.

"You're heavier than you look." He commented playfully, and started moving through the graveyard, Juliana at his side.

"Maybe there's people there," Beth looked to Juliana as she motioned towards the white house in the distance.

"Yeah," Daryl started, "And if there are we'll handle them." Juliana saw him glance out of the corner of his eye in her direction.

"There are still good people, Daryl," Beth reminded him. Daryl shifted Beth on his back slightly as he kept moving.

"I don't think the good ones survive," Juliana muttered to Beth.

But Beth was distracted. She had slid off Daryl's back, causing his to stop and look in the direction she was looking in. An old tombstone with the dates of birth and death were etched above the words that said: Beloved Father. Juliana moved next to Beth, giving her shoulder a small squeeze as Daryl ripped out some weeds that sprouted yellow flowers, placing them on the top of the tombstone. Juliana stepped away from the two of them, moving so she was now standing a few feet away from Daryl. Looking behind her for a moment, she saw Beth reached for his hand, intertwining their fingers together. Sweet, sweet, Beth. The teenager had wiggled a way into both of their hearts.

Coming up to the house, Daryl shrugged lightly and Beth slipped off his back. Juliana was wary of the place, which she assumed was a funeral home because of its location, because it was too clean. It didn't settle well with her, and her stomach twisted in an uncomfortable knot.

Daryl wasn't hesitant as he held his crossbow with one hand, opening the door to the house. He smacked the doorframe a few times, letting out a whistle as he readied himself for walkers to come wandering out into the foyer. Juliana had slid in next to him, gripping her gun as she peeked into the pristine interior of the home.

"Give it a minute," Daryl mumbled as he took a single step inside.

Nothing came. It was quiet.

He finally took a few more steps in, peering into the large, open rooms on either side of the hallway. Juliana followed, and Beth after her.

"It's so clean," Beth commented.

"Yeah. Someone's been tendin' to it. May still be around."

"I don't like it," Juliana said under her breath, fingers gripping the gun even tighter. She followed after Daryl as he went off to his left into a room that held an open casket. Watching him walk over to it, Juliana had to turn away as she noticed the body in the casket. For all the walkers she had killed, she felt most unnerved by the sight of this man in his casket. Daryl and Beth paused for a moment at the open casket before they all exited the room and made their way to a staircase that led downstairs, with Daryl in the lead.

The small room at the end of the stairs was some sort of holding room for the bodies. Juliana grimaced seeing two men dressed in suits on the sterile tables. Daryl had set his crossbow down and was shuffling through some cabinets, looking for something to wrap Beth's ankle with.

"Looks like somebody ran out of dolls to dress up," Daryl mused, ripping open a packet of wrap using his teeth.

"It's beautiful. Whoever did this cared. They wanted these people to get a funeral. They remembered these things were people before all of this. They didn't let it change them in the end. Don't you think that's beautiful?" She looked between Daryl and Juliana, who shifted uncomfortably, avoiding looking at the bodies.

"No," she admitted to Beth, "Because it's reminding us that they used to be someone," she shook her head, sliding in between Beth and the counters as she made her away from the two of them and the bodies, "I don't want to be reminded of that."

Daryl watched Juliana through hooded eyes before clearing his throat, moving over to Beth, "Come on," he mumbled, kneeling down to wrap her ankle.


	13. Into the Dark

**13**

 **Into the Dark**

* * *

"You find anything?" Juliana asked as the three of them opened cabinets, searching for something to eat. Beth pulled open the fridge to find it empty, causing both her and Juliana to let out a sigh of defeat. Daryl was far luckier in finding something. Yanking open two of the top cabinets, they reveled well-stocked shelves.

"Woah," Beth mouthed, standing next to Daryl she stared up in awe at the food choices above them.

"Peanut butter and jelly," Daryl told the two of them, twisting around cans and bottles to read their labels, "Diet soda, and pig's feet. That's a white trash brunch right there."

"Looks good to me," Juliana muttered, reaching up to grab a jar of peanut butter and jelly. Beth reached underneath her, grabbing her own cans of food.

Their jubilation was short lived, as Daryl hesitated, holding a can in his hand. "No, hold up." He told them, "Ain't a speck of dust on this." Juliana and Beth both simultaneously looked down at the jars in their hands.

"So?" Beth looked at Daryl and Juliana.

"It means someone just put this here," Juliana told Beth, turning back to look at the open cabinet, "It's someone's stash." Her fingers wrapped around the can tightly, debating whether or not to put it back. "Maybe they're still alive," she mused out loud.

"Alright," Daryl started, "We'll take some of it and we'll leave the rest."

"I knew it," Beth said with a smile as she placed a can back onto the shelf.

"Knew what?"

"It's just like I said: there are still good people." Daryl didn't reply to Beth, and instead dipped two fingers into a jar of jelly, scooping up a glob of the sweet condiment and shoved it into his mouth. Beth made a face of disgust.

"Ew, gross!"

Daryl shrugged her off, pointing at a jar of pig's feet that was still on the shelf, "Hey, those pig's feet are mine."

"All yours, Dixon," Juliana teased, grinning over at him.

When they had finished with a couple jars, Daryl went outside to string up a line of cans that stretched along the entrance way that led up to the porch so they'd be able to hear anyone or anything that came wandering up onto the porch.

Beth and Juliana had found a small room with a piano. Beth's face had lit up at the sight up it, and it didn't take her long to settle down at it and begin playing. Juliana had set her gun up against the wall next to the single couch in the room, and settled down onto the couch, sinking into it. As Beth began to hit the keys on the piano and music filled her ears, Juliana felt her eyes get heavy.

But just as she felt herself start to drift off, Daryl cleared his throat, causing both her and Beth to jump. Juliana sat up quickly, meeting Daryl's eyes as he mumbled a 'sorry' to her.

"The place is nailed up tight," he informed them, walking into the room and setting his crossbow down next to Juliana's gun, "Only way in is through the front door." He then jumped up into the empty, open casket in the room.

"What are you doing?" Juliana asked from the sofa.

"This is the comfiest bed I've had in years," He swung his legs over into the casket, shimming down to get more comfortable.

"Really?" Beth raised an eyebrow at him, a crooked grin on her face.

"I ain't kiddin'," he let out a sigh as his head hit the pillow and Julianna shifted so she was laying down on the sofa again, legs hanging off the end.  
"Why don't you go ahead and play some more?" Daryl suggested. "Keep singin'."

"I thought my singing annoyed you."

"There ain't no jukebox, so…"

Beth played again, and it wasn't long before she drifted off. For the first time in a while, finally safe enough to sleep through the night.

She was the first one to wake up the next morning. Letting out a soft moan as she stretched her arms and legs, Juliana sat up slowly, reaching back to rub the back of her neck. Beth had shoved some chairs together and was sleeping on them, and Daryl was still snoozing. Swinging her legs over the edge of the sofa, she paused for a moment before she stood up, grabbing her gun that was laid against the wall and made her way down to the small kitchen area.

As long as she had been by herself before meeting the group, she had found that sometimes she still craved to be alone. Sometimes it was better to only worry about yourself. You didn't have the weight of other people's worries to carry. Then again, sometimes it was nice to feel like she was a part of something, and she felt that she and Beth and Daryl had gotten closer since the events at the prison.

She settled down at the table, unscrewing the lid off of a peanut butter jar and dipped a spoon in, taking a heaping scoop. Just before she could take a bite, Daryl came through the door, carrying Beth in his arms. She set down the spoon, grinning at the two of them.

"Well look at you, lucky girl," Juliana teased Beth as Daryl sat her down at the table. Beth let out a laugh at Juliana's comment.

"Maybe if you're good, you can have a turn next," Daryl told Juliana as he made his way around to the opposite end of the small table. Juliana and Beth glanced at each other quickly out of the corner of their eyes. Was Daryl Dixon flirting? Beth stifled a laugh, lowering her head slightly.

"Let's eat," he said, oblivious to whatever he had just done.

Just as Daryl sat, the cans from outside clinked together. The three of them stood instantly, Daryl and Juliana grabbed their weapons and moved quickly to the front door. Daryl told Beth to stay as he and Juliana made their way to the front door. He held out a hand, silently telling Juliana to stay back as he reached for the handle, opening up the door. Standing in front of them was a one-eyed dog.

Lowering their weapons, Daryl knelt down, trying to get the dog to come to him. The dog barked, jumping backwards before he ran off. He stood, shutting the door behind him as he and Juliana let out a sigh of relief. Turning around to head back to the kitchen, they noticed Beth was standing in the doorway.

"I told you to stay back."

"Yeah, but, Daryl, you said there was a dog."

Juliana shrugged lightly at Beth's comment, "She does have a point," she told him, "I mean, he was kind of cute."

Daryl shook his head, wrapping his fingers around Beth's upper arm to help her back down to the kitchen area, "Maybe he'll come back around. Come on," he told the two of them, and they wandered back down to finish their breakfast.

They spent the rest of the day chatting about random things. Favorite movies and music. Beth attempted to teach Juliana how to play the piano with no luck, and Juliana taught Beth how to throw a better punch. When darkness fell, they made their way back into the kitchen, sitting around the table, stuffing their face with peanut butter and pig's feet.

"I'm gonna leave a thank-you note," Beth told the two of them as she pulled out a notepad and pen she had found.

"Why?" Daryl asked, digging his spoon into another jar of grape jelly.

"For when they come back." She paused and added, "If they come back. Even if they're not coming back, I still want to say thanks."

"Maybe you don't have to leave that," Daryl suggested, "Maybe we stick around here for a while." He looked across the table in Juliana's direction. As many times' as he would make the decision for their small group, she had begun to notice that there were times when he would look over at her as if he was asking for permission. A tight-lipped smile crossed her lips as she caught his eye. "They come back," he continued, "we'll just make it work. They may be nuts, but maybe it'll be alright."

Beth smiled, "So you do think there are still good people around." Daryl shrugged, turning his head away from her.

"What changed your mind?" she inquired.

Daryl didn't answer right away, looking over to Beth, "You know," he finally replied.

"What?" Beth grinned, glancing over to Juliana who was now resting her chin in the palm of her hand. She knew exactly why.

Daryl mumbled a barely audible 'I don't know', and Beth teased him, mocking his avoidance. "What changed your mind?" she asked again. He could only stare at her, hoping she would understand.

"Oh," Beth blinked, realizing that she had changed his mind. Juliana stood, wrapping an arm around Beth's shoulder and gave her a squeeze. Beth lifted a hand, placing it on Juliana's forearm as she hugged the younger girl.

"You're a good kid, Beth," Juliana told her.

Beth opened her mouth, about to speak when the cans clanged together again, followed by a dog's bark. Daryl stood, "I'm gonna give that mutt one more chance." He told the two of them, leaving the room to head to the front door to try to get the dog to come inside.

It wasn't the dog.

"Beth! Jules!" Daryl shouted from the foyer. Juliana's eyes widen as she heard the fear in his voice, accompanied by the snarls of walkers clawing at the door. Grabbing her gun, Beth grabbed Daryl's crossbow and they raced to the front entrance to see Daryl with his back up against the door, trying to hold it shut as walkers pushed against it.

Beth tossed Daryl his crossbow and he stepped away from the door, allowing the horde to come in. "Run!" he shouted at them, "Run!" he took aim at a walker as they stormed inside the house. Juliana lifted her gun, aiming at a couple walkers, but there were far too many for just the two of them to take on. They fell back, darting back into another room.

"Beth, pry open a window. Get your shit!" Daryl ordered.

"I'm not gonna leave you!" Beth cried out, but Daryl ignored her.

"Go out! Go up to the road! I'll meet you there!" he caught up with Juliana grabbing a hold of her wrist to grab her attention, "Go with Beth!" Juliana nodded quickly, and Daryl darted away, down the stairs where they had found the two bodies. She followed Beth into the kitchen, where she was up on the counter, prying open a window. Juliana had her back to Beth, gun aimed at the door way as she heard the growls from the walkers coming closer to them.

"Hurry!" she shouted at Beth as she struggled to get the window open. A couple of walkers stumbled into the room, and Juliana fired, the gunshots loud inside of the house. The window finally opened with a pop and Beth scrambled out. Juliana shouted after her to run up to the road as she climbed up onto the counter to escape out of the window next. A hand grabbed onto her ankle, and Juliana turned to see a walker clawing at her jeans. She kicked back hard, awkwardly moving her weapon around so she would be able to fire it. It clicked. Nothing came out.

"Fuck!" Juliana yelled, hitting at the walker with the butt of her gun until it let go; it's head a caved in mass of skin and bones. She tossed the gun at the other walkers who were filing into the room and pushed herself out of the window, falling backwards out onto the ground.

She cringed as she landed in a thorny bush. Rolling to the side, she scrambled to stand, her fingernails digging into the dirt as she pushed herself up and began running to the road. "Beth!" she screamed, dodging past a walker as one reached out for her. She could just barely see Beth standing in the road-and a car striking her.

"Beth!" Juliana screamed, pushing herself to get to the road faster. A man had gotten out of the car and was dragging Beth's body into the car with him. She managed to reach the car just before he could get into the driver's side, and grabbed at the man's sleeve, causing him to whirl around and sock her square in the eye. Juliana fell backwards onto her butt, her hand flying up to her eye as she felt hotness seep up into her eye socket.

The car began to drive away, and she struggled to stand, "Beth!" she screamed. Pushing herself up off the asphalt, a hand reached out, yanking her shoulder. Juliana had her hands up, ready for whatever had grabbed her to see it was Daryl. "We have to get Beth!" she shouted frantically at Daryl, who just spotted the car as it drove further away.

"Come on!" he yelled, "Beth! Beth!" he shouted as the two of them raced after the car. Their brightest ray of hope was disappearing into the dark.


	14. The Crossroads

**14**

* * *

She wasn't sure how long she and Daryl had been running, but the car was long gone and dawn had pasted a while ago. Juliana's lungs were heavy, and she struggled to breathe with each step she took. It was beginning to become painful as her boot hit the pavement, but she kept moving. Cringing at each step; her legs felt like Jell-O. Daryl was ahead of her by a few steps, and he eventually slowed, coming to a walk and Juliana could catch up with him. They were both caked in sweat. Juliana's eye had swollen shut by now, the skin surrounding her socket turning a dark purple.

Panting, they came to an intersection and stopped. Daryl looked helpless as he turned in each direction the roads forked off into, trying to figure out what to do next. Exhausted, Juliana fell to her backside onto the ground, falling backwards onto her back, arms sprawled out next to her as he chest rose and fell quickly. Daryl dropped his crossbow to the ground, coming to sit down next to her. They were defeated, and at a literal crossroads. The two of them hadn't realized until now how much Beth was leading them in the 'right direction' until they lost her.

Juliana pushed herself up into a sitting position, looking over to him as they sat in the middle of the road. Carefully, she reached up, touching the side of her face and winced as a sharp pain shot through the side of her face.

"I could have gotten her," she muttered, dropping her hand to her side. Daryl didn't look over in her direction. "I should have been able to save her," her throat began to tighten and she swallowed. Heat flowed to her cheeks and her eyes welled with tears. Roughly, she wiped her uninjured eye with the back of her hand. "I should have-"

"Stop," Daryl ordered, his tone sharp and quick. Juliana fell silent, knowing that saying anything else would be pointless. Once again, the two of them sat in silence, unsure of what to do, and desperate to find Beth.

* * *

Footsteps hit the pavement. Crunching of small rocks and particles of sand under a heavy pair of boots sounded incredibly loud in Juliana's ears. She quickly looked to Daryl, her head lowered as she watched him carefully. When he remained still, she remained still, both of their hands down. Her hand slowly moved to his arm, fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt to let him know she had heard it too. Carefully, she trailed her fingers down his side, grabbing a hold of his knife and pulled it out slowly as more boots circled around them.

"Well lookit here," a male voice crooned, taking a step towards the two of them. Just as he leant down, Daryl threw a punch. He grabbed at his crossbow, standing as he aimed it at the man. Juliana had followed suited, holding the knife in one hand, her back turned to Daryl as she tried to figure out exactly what they were up against.

Guns cocked, the gang aiming them at Juliana and Daryl. Daryl had knocked the man to the ground, his hand to his nose; bloodied.

"Damnit, hold up!" the man hollered at his men.

"I'm claimin' the vest," a greasy, dark haired man with a compound bow called out, "I like them wings," a creepy grin fell onto his face as his eyes darted to Juliana, "I like you too, even if your boyfriend fucked up your eye," he teased, letting out an even creepier laugh. Juliana took a step back, trying to get closer to Daryl. She was uneasy.

"Hold up," the man told them again, bringing his hand down from his nose. He glanced at the blood that had pooled on his hand and let out a hearty laugh, standing. "A bowman," he started, "I respect that. See, a man with a rifle, he could be some kind of photographer or soccer coach back in the day. But a bowman's a bowman through and through." He motioned to Daryl's crossbow, "What ya got there, 150 pound draw weight? I'll be donkey-licked if that don't fire at least 300 feet per second. I've been lookin' for a weapon like that."

At those words, Juliana gripped the handle of the knife tighter, glancing over her shoulder briefly as the man continued to speak.

" 'Course I'd want one with a bit more ammo and minus the oblongata stains." The man peered over Daryl's shoulder as he noticed Juliana peak over hers to look back at him, "Doesn't look like your pretty friend has any weapons to offer, either."

The creepy, greasy man let out a laugh, "You two get yourselves into trouble?"

Juliana ignored him, trying to look anywhere but his face and instead tried to focus on the interaction that was going on between Daryl and this man.

"You pull that trigger, these boys are gonna drop you several times over. Then we'll take your girl." He paused, staring Daryl down, "Is that what you want?" Daryl remained silent, still holding his crossbow level with the man's skull.

"Come on, fella, suicide is stupid. Why hurt yourself when you can hurt other people?" he paused, "Name's Joe."

Daryl's crossbow dropped, but he kept his eye on Joe. Reaching back, he tapped Juliana on the arm, letting her know silently that she would be safe to turn around. She turned around as Daryl told Joe his name.

"Well, holy shit," Joe grinned, looking Juliana up and down, "Looks like you beat the shit out of her. She is your girl, right?" Juliana parted her lips, just about to speak when Daryl interrupted her.

"Yeah," he mumbled, lying. Joe shook her head, the grin still on his face as his eyes traveled down Juliana's frame. Daryl shifted to the side, standing more in front of her as he caught onto this, causing Joe to let out a laugh, "Too bad," he mumbled to himself. The men shared a strange look between them.

Juliana felt like she was a piece of meat dangling in front of a pack of wolves, and even with Daryl with her, she felt in no way safe around this group. As much as she wanted to pull the 'bad ass bitch' card and say something smart, she kept her mouth shut, fingers still wrapped around the knife that was down at her side. At this moment in time, she was so glad Beth wasn't around.


	15. In the Quiet

**15**

 **In the Quiet**

* * *

She kept close to Daryl as they shuffled along with the small group. Juliana would brush her shoulder occasionally, making sure he was still there. She noted he had a tight grip on his crossbow, and his eyes darted around between the group of men who cackled and carried on like they didn't have a care in the world.

Joe had fallen back to walk in stride with Juliana and Daryl. She couldn't help but have a nervous feeling wash over her, and shifted over closer to Daryl. Joe noticed this, letting out a chuckle as he looked over at the two of them.

"You never told me your name, darlin'," Joe drawled out.

Daryl shot a glare in his direction, "She doesn't have to tell ya' nothin'."

Another chuckle rose from Joe throat, followed by a sigh, "How'd ya get that black eye, huh?" he questioned. They had already assumed Daryl had beat her up, and Juliana wasn't stupid. She offered him a shy shrug, avoiding eye contact with the older man.

"None of your business," Juliana retorted. This caused Joe to let out a hearty laugh. He swung his arm over her shoulders, squeezing her as if she were some old friend. Visibly flinching, her eyes darted nervously to Daryl whose finger had found its way to the trigger of the crossbow.

"Well God damn!" his arm moved from around her shoulders, giving her a brief pat on the back before his arm dropped down by his side, "Sounds like you've got some tough bitch to keep in line there, Daryl. No wonder she's got that black eye."

Rage boiled in Juliana. She wanted so badly to ball up her fist and sock him square in the face. Daryl's body language was no better; tense and angry himself, she could tell he was on the verge of losing his shit as well. She was thankfully when Joe picked up his pace, and the two of them fell to the back of the group, shuffling along behind them.

"Go along with it," Daryl murmured to her.

Her eyes drifted over in his direction, and he returned the gaze, looking down at her. Heat suddenly rose in her throat, and her hand flew to her mouth to stifle the unexpected sob that escape from her. His gaze lowered and his feet came to a stop. Daryl reached out pulling Juliana towards him. His fingers tangled in her hair as he pressed his lips to the top of her head. Juliana's breath hitched, and she wasn't sure if it was from his surprising action, or the aftermath of the sob.

"Enough of that shit!" Joe called out, causing the two of them to break apart quickly. Juliana cleared her throat, nudging at Daryl to continue after Joe and the rest of the gang turned their attention away from the two of them again.

"She's not dead," Juliana spoke up. Daryl glanced at her sideways, shrugging. "She's not," she insisted, eyes narrowing slightly in his direction, "Whatever we were in was some sort of..trap. They knew we were there. They had to have known Beth didn't have any weapons on her," she paused, "They picked her out. Because they think she's weak," Daryl remained silent still. "She's not weak. You know that."

He mumbled a barely audible 'yeah' before that all too familiar silence fell between the two of them. It was a comfortable silence; wrapping around Juliana like a blanket. There had always been an odd sort of understanding between the two of them in the quiet. It made her feel safer, even if Daryl didn't say anything, she knew he understood.


	16. Figure it Out

**16**

 **Figure it Out**

* * *

Juliana and Daryl didn't say much else as they trudged after the group. Her feet ached; the skin on the back of her foot had rubbed raw against the leather of her boots, even with a pair of socks in between. Her muscles tighten painfully at each step, but she was hesitant to rest, not only because she did not trust this group, but because she worried that she would never want to get up again.

The sun began to settle down on the horizon, sliding back behind a few dark clouds as darkness started to encroach on them from the opposite direction. They must have finally decided that enough was enough for today and veered off into the woods and off the main road. Daryl stuck close by her side the entire time, their shoulders brushing up against one another as if they were silently reminding each other that they were still there.

"How's your eye?" Daryl muttered, looking out of the corner of his eye for a moment as they both stepped over a tree that had fallen over.

Gingerly, Juliana reached up to touch the corner of her eye and winced. Her shoulders shrugged in reply, "It'll be fine," she assured him. He nodded, though it was obvious to Juliana that something still lingered on his mind. Reaching out, Juliana touched the sleeve of his shirt. "We'll find her," she told him, her voice almost as a whisper. His lips parted, about to speak when the group came to a stop.

"We'll stop here for the night," Joe exclaimed and began barking out a few orders to the men to get their area secured for the night. He came wandering over to Daryl and Juliana, a grin plastered on his face that made Juliana's skin crawl. "You may want to keep an eye on your girl. The boys here have been..pretty..lonely lately." Daryl's jaw clenched and an almost primal growl rolled out of her throat.

"Sure thing."

* * *

While the rest of the group chattered among themselves, Daryl and Juliana tried their best to distance themselves from them. He had sat down with his back against a broad oak tree, eyes on the small group of men that was in front of him. Every time they had offered him to come over, he would shake his head and decline. Juliana sat off to his side, her back against the other side of the tree. Her stomach rumbled and twisted uncomfortably from hunger, but she didn't dare try to find something to eat.

The sounds of the forest surrounded them, causing Juliana's head to bop and her eyes to fall shut for a moment. Daryl must have felt her jump back and looked over his shoulder at her.

"Sleep," he murmured, "I'll watch out for ya."

Her hand reached up, rubbing at the corners of her eyes to try and keep herself awake. Her lips parted, about to speak before he cut her off, "They ain't gonna mess with me."

Placing a hand on his shoulder, she gave it a squeeze before letting it drop back down to her side. Shuffling downwards, Juliana wrapped her arms around her waist and leaned her head back against the tree. It wasn't long before the distant sounds of insects and hooting of faraway owls lulled her into sleep, though the anxiety and uneasiness of the group she and Daryl had found still lingered in the pit of her stomach.

* * *

A hand on her shoulder shaking her awake quickly brought Juliana back to reality. Her eyes snapped open and she jolted forward, her fingers wrapping around the wrist of her would-be attacker. She was lucky, once her sleep-filled eyes focused onto Daryl's face. Her heart, which had been ready to jump out of her chest, began to slow. Releasing her fingers from around his wrist, she mumbled an apology to him, running her hands down her face.

Daryl apologized as well, mumbling something about how he shouldn't have woken her like that. Juliana glanced over to the group, noticing that they were still asleep, and looked back to Daryl who had stood, crossbow in hand.

"Come on. I heard your stomach last night. We both need to eat."

Nodding, she braced herself against the tree and pushed herself up. Her legs ached and her muscles her tight. She regretted falling asleep the way she had now. Wincing she forced herself forward, meeting up with Daryl who had already walked a few paces ahead of her.

He motioned to her to slow down and be quiet, after they had walked a little way away from the makeshift camp. Juliana glanced over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of what he was looking at: a rabbit. She watched as he steadied the crossbow against his shoulder, finger on the trigger, waiting for the right moment. He kneeled slowly, pulled the trigger-and another arrow whisked by his ear. Juliana must have been too involved in watching Daryl to be more aware of her surroundings. She cursed herself internally as Daryl stood.

"What the hell you doin'?"

The greasy creep was back. He grinned in Juliana's direction before looking back to Daryl, "Catching me some breakfast."

"That's Daryl's," Juliana spoke up, crossing her arms over her chest. Daryl scoffed and stormed over to the deceased rabbit to pull out his arrow.

"My arrow's the one that hit it first," he explained to Juliana, "Cottontail belongs to me."

Daryl kneeled, yanking out the arrows from the rabbit, "We've been out here since before the sun came up."

The creep stepped closer to Daryl, and Juliana's hands had dropped down to her sides, her hands balling up into fists so tight that he knuckles were beginning to turn white. She dug her fingernails into the palms of her hands; reminding herself quietly to not to anything stupid.

"See, the rules of the hunt don't mean jack out here. Now, that rabbit you're holdin'," he motioned to the rabbit that Daryl had now picked up and was starting to make his way back to Juliana, "Is claimed, boy."

Daryl tossed the other man's arrow off to the side. Looking between the two, Juliana could almost compare them to some old western; two cowboys about to have a shootout between the two of them. She moved towards Daryl's direction, coming to stand next to him in solidarity.

"Claimed," he continued, "Whether you like it or not. So if I was you I'd hand if over."

Daryl started to move closer to the other man, and when Juliana followed, he held out his arm to stop her from moving any further with him.

"Now." He ordered, "Before you get to wishin' you ain't never even got out of bed this morning."

"It ain't yours!" Juliana called out, storming up from behind Daryl. Daryl shot her a glance, a flicker of annoyance and anger sparking behind his eyes.

The man grinned at her again, but turned his attention back to Daryl, "You know," he started, his voice low, "I'll bet, this bitch," he pointed a finger at Juliana, "got you all messed up, huh? Am I right?" The two of them remained silent as he continued, "Or someone else? Yeah," he grinned as Daryl nudged at Juliana to walk with him. The man kept on, though, continuing on his assault of Daryl, "Got you walkin' around here like a dead man! Who just lost himself another piece of tail." He let out a laugh.  
Juliana and Daryl had come to a stop, the anger between them could light a fire.

"Must have been a good one. Better than what ya' got now." He paused, waiting for a reaction before he kept one, "Tell me somethin', was it one of the little ones?" at those words Juliana watched as Daryl wrapped his hand around the handle of his knife. She was ready to beat the living shit out of this creep. "They don't last too long out here."

Before Daryl could manage to turn around with his knife in hand, Juliana whipped around, fist clenched tightly and ready to sock the man right in his jaw. "You fuckin' son of a bitch!" she hissed, storming his way.

"Easy fellas! Daryl, get your girl!" Joe's voice called out suddenly. Daryl's arm snaked around Juliana's waist, dragging her back against him as the man laughed in their faces.

"I'll fuckin' kill you," she swore at him.

"Now, now," Joe had placed a hand on Daryl's shoulder, "Let's just see what's really the problem here, huh? Calm your girl down and let's figure it out."

Lowering his head down to Juliana's ear, the scruff of his bread pressed up roughly against her skin. His breath was warm in her ear as he whispered to her, "Jules, relax." Juliana swallowed hard, forcing her anger down deeper into her soul. Her throat was hot with the threat of tears from being so frustrated. She tore away from him, pushing Daryl away. She was angry, frustrated, and not over the fact that Beth had been taken from them. Now they were with a group neither one of them trusted, and not only was the issue of Beth missing a problem, but the hope that Beth had instilled in them that the rest of the group may still be alive still stayed with her.

Daryl looked hurt as she pushed herself away from him, but his mask was quickly replaced when he and Joe and the creep discussed who would get the rabbit. They mentioned that it had to be called as 'claimed', and those were the rules. Joe had ended up cutting the rabbit in half, leaving Daryl with the ass-end while Juliana looked on.

"Oh, and Daryl," Joe said just as he passed Juliana, "May want to make sure everyone knows your girl is claimed too."

* * *

 **A/N:** _Sorry for the delay in updates! Classes have got the best of me (specifically genetics). Please make sure you leave a review if you're enjoying this story! Around 2 more weeks until TWD is back..finally! -KC_


	17. Kill 'Em First

**17**

 **Kill 'Em First**

* * *

Juliana shuffled behind Daryl and Joe was walked a few paced ahead of her. She was still upset at what had happened earlier between her and the scumbag who had made comments about Beth. Of course, he had no idea who Beth was, but his words hit far too close to home. Juliana held a grudge now and swore she could taste the bitterness on her tongue. She fiddled with the hem of her sleeve as she kept the slightly slower pace behind the two men.

"What's the plan, Daryl?" Joe asked Daryl, the two walking side by side, "You're with us now but you ain't soon?"

Daryl glanced over his shoulder for a moment, making eye contact with Juliana for only a second before replying to Joe, "Yep."

"So what's the plan?"

"Just.." Juliana could hear Daryl's voice fade off, "..lookin' for the right place is all."

"Oh, we ain't good enough for you and your girl, huh?" Joe questioned.

Juliana had been eavesdropping and couldn't help but add her own two cents into the conversation, "Some of you ain't exactly friendly," Juliana interjected. Joe looked over his shoulder at her, grinning in her direction. He slowed to a stop, turning his body slightly to face her. Daryl had stopped a few feet ahead of Joe, looking back at the two of them.

"You ain't so friendly yourself."

Letting out a huff, she made her way to Daryl's side, biting down on the inside of her cheek to keep herself from saying anything that she would end up regretting. Daryl nudged at her with his elbow, catching her attention.

Without saying anything between the two of them, she knew Daryl was worried about her. It didn't last long though, as Joe quickly came up to Juliana's side, motioning at them to keep up with the rest of the group that was now a few extra paces ahead of them.

"You know you two need a group out there," Joe commented to the two of them as they now walked in line together. Juliana instinctively moved closer to Daryl, trying to place herself further away from Joe.

"Maybe we don't," Daryl mumbled, his eyes downcast, staring at his boots.

"No," Joe insisted, "You do. You should be with us. You and your girl, obviously, she can take a punch." He grinned at his comment and Juliana cringed.

Ahead of them, a lone walker snarled. Juliana glanced up to see what used to be a woman, sauntering out from an old, abandoned building up towards the railroad tracks towards the group. Briefly her mind flashed back to when the turn had started, and how she remembered feeling when she was caught off guard by one of the dead appearing. Now, it was second nature.  
The walker stumbled closer, but Joe kept on, making his case for why she and Daryl should stay with the group.

"People don't got to be friendly. We don't have to be nice. We don't have to be brother's in arms…" Juliana watched as the men in front of her taunted the walker, pushing her back and forth like she was part of a game. Another man came up from the side, tire iron in hand, and plunged it into the top of the walker's skull. She fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, a dark red, almost black liquid seeping out of the top of her head.

Joe continued, "We just got to follow the rules. You claim. If you steal, you 'keel'; I know that sounds a little funny, but nobody laughs when somebody goes missing. And you don't lie. 'Cause that's a slippery slope indeed."

Daryl glanced passed Juliana and over to Joe, "What happens if you break 'em?" he questioned.

"Oh, you catch a beatin'; the severity of which depends upon the offense and the general attitude of the day. But that don't happen much, 'cause when men, and women," he winked at Juliana, "like us follow the rules and cooperate a little bit, well, the world becomes ours."

Placing two fingers in between his lips, Joe let out a sharp whistle, coming to a stop in front of the decrepit building that Juliana had assumed the walker had come out of. "Right here," he told the rest of the men who had come to a stop and turned to face him, waiting for what to do next, "It's our abode from the evening."

As Joe moved forwards towards the building, Daryl stopped. His arm extended out in front of Juliana, preventing her from moving ahead any further. She stumbled a few steps backwards, quizzically looking over at Daryl as to why he had prevented her from going forwards.

"Hey," he called out to Joe before he could walk away any further, "There ain't no us."

With a furrowed brow, Joe stalked back to Daryl in a way that made Juliana tense; Daryl remained solid. "You leavin' right now?" he asked.

Juliana focused her attention on Daryl, watching as he adverted his gaze from Joe as he asked the question. They both knew this group couldn't be trusted, but what other options did they have?

Joe yanked out a stale cigarette from his pocket as he waited for an answer that never came, "No? Then it sure seems that there's an us." He stared hard at Daryl before turning on his heel and stalking away from the two of them. Juliana waited for Daryl's decision. His arm had dropped down to his side now and she reached out, gingerly touching at the fabric of his sleeve. His eyes met hers for a moment before Joe's voice rang out again.

"You a cat person, Daryl?" The two of them quickly turned their attention to Joe. "I am," he had lit the cigarette by now and had sucked the majority of it down as he spoke, "Loved 'em since I was three years old. Vicious creatures," he took one last drag of the cigarette and pointed a finger at Daryl, "Anyway, I'll tell you, and this is true, ain't nothin' sadder than an outdoor cat that thinks he's an indoor cat."

The two men had silence fall between them, and Joe didn't stay long before he turned and finally walked away from the duo, up towards the building with the rest of them men.

"Daryl.." Juliana started, stepping around him so she was able to be standing in front of the man, "I trust whatever you decide," she told him, "But if one of those assholes touches me, I'll fuckin' kill 'em."

Daryl looked down at her through dark, shaggy hair and gently grabbed at her elbow, turning her around as he grudgingly made his way to the building, "Not if I kill 'em first," he mumbled under his breath.


	18. Ain't No Sanctuary

**18**

 **Ain't No Sanctuary**

* * *

They were the last ones to enter the building, Juliana stepped in ahead of Daryl, gripping his knife he had given her after she had tossed her gun back at the house. He was quiet as he came behind her, grabbing a hold of the rusted handle of the sliding door and pulling it closed. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust after Daryl shut the door, the hot sun now gone and replaced with a dim space filled with abandoned cars. It was dusty and musty, with a faint undertone of stale or rotten food Juliana couldn't place.

The two of them stayed back from the rest of the group for a moment, trying to take in their surroundings before making a move.

"They ain't here," a man said, "Nobody's been here for awhile. Whoever it was they got all the gas."

"That don't matter," Joe said, "We're getting closer, I can feel it."

Daryl motioned to a car with a dirty tarp strewn over the top of it, gently tapping at Juliana's elbow to gain her attention. She followed him as he began to yank the tarp off of the car, only to have one of the men walk over, kicking at the bag Daryl had. Juliana's eyes narrowed at the man as the bag skidded across the floor.

"Claimed."

"Claimed."

"Claimed."

Their words echoed in the mostly empty building as she and Daryl both tried to get to vehicles that they were using as a more suitable place to rest. Daryl and Juliana locked eyes from across the room as both of their attempts at getting anything failed. Sighing it defeat, she made her way over to Daryl, handing him his knife and wiped her hands on her jeans, looking around the building once more. Daryl took the knife from her hand, sliding it back into the sheath that was clipped to his side.

Tossing the black garbage bag to the side, he settled himself down onto the cold, hard concrete floor. Patting next to him, Juliana stepped over Daryl and settled down next to him, sitting with her legs crossed. His gaze briefly flickered over in her direction, but no words were said between them. She would watch out for him while he rested, and as he draped his arm over his face, she knew that he trusted her.

Resting didn't last long for either of them though, the man who had pissed Juliana off, Len, was now raising his voice and making his way over to their direction.

"Christ!" Len cursed, stalking over to them. Daryl sat up quick, and Juliana stood as Len came to a stop in front of them, holding out his hand, "Give it here!"

"Step the fuck back," Juliana hissed at him. Len's eyes darted in his direction and he pointed a finger at her.

"Ain't your business, girl."

Standing without turning his back to Len, he stood firmly in front of Len, adjusting his body so that it was now halfway in front of Juliana.

"My half was in the bag. Now it's gone! Now, ain't nobody 'round here interested in no half a damn cottontail except you. Ain't that right?"

Glaring, Daryl stepped closer towards Len, "You're the only one still thinkin' about that crap!" Tension suddenly surged between the two men, and when Len told Daryl to empty the bag, Juliana quickly stepped around Daryl, yanking the bag up from the ground.

"I said, step back!" Juliana's voiced raised, echoing loudly through the building. Len turned his attention to Juliana, eyes narrowed at the woman.

"You better get your girl in line," Len threatened, "She ain't claimed yet!"

Juliana's heart began to race with adrenaline as Len came dangerously close to her. She noticed Daryl's hand moving to the handle of his knife, and he stuck a foot in between Juliana and Len. The tension was high, and if it hadn't been for Joe stepped in and pulling the bag out of her hand, she was certain Daryl would have hurt the man.

"Did either of you take his rabbit?" Joe asked Daryl and Juliana. "Just tell me the truth."

"We didn't take nothin'." Juliana spit out.

"What do we got here?" Joe flipped the bag upside down. Random things the two of them spilled out onto the floor; along with the other half of the rabbit. Juliana's head snapped over to Daryl as the front half of the rabbit lay on the cold floor. "Well look at that," Joe murmured.

"You put that there didn't ya?!" Daryl moved towards Len again, eyes narrowed.

"You lied."

"Didn't you!" Daryl shouted, shoving Len in the shoulder. Len's eyes widened as he stumbled backwards a few steps at the shove.

"You lied. You stole." Len growled through gritted teeth, poking at Daryl in the chest. "We gonna teach this fool and his girl or what, Joe?"

She had been trying her best to not get herself or Daryl into any trouble with this group, but her anger was far exceeding her ability to reason at the moment. She moved in front of Daryl once more, fist balled up and ready to throw a punch when Joe stepped in between her and Daryl and Len.

"Now, Daryl and Juliana say they didn't take your half of the rabbit. So we got a little conundrum here. Either they're lying," he turned his body halfway, motioning to the two of them, "which is an, actionable offense, or.." he turned back to Len, a cryptic laugh escaping his lips, "..you didn't plant it on him like some pussy, punk-ass, cheatin', coward cop, did you?" Juliana watched as Len began to shrink back as if he was a puppy getting disciplined by its' mother, "..Cause," Joe continued, "while that wouldn't be specifically breakin' the rules, it'd be disappointing."

"It would," Len agreed. Pausing for a moment, he stepped in to Joe, "I didn't." he said harshly, staring out of the corner of his eye in Daryl's direction as he said it.

"Good," Joe gave Len a pat on his shoulder, casually looking away for a moment, "Well.." he began, and without warning, whipped around, elbowing Len in the face. It took the man off-guard and he fell backwards onto the floor, "Teach him a lesson, gents! He's a lyin' sack of shit and I'm sick of it. Teach him all the way."

The rest of the men crowded around Len and began kicking and stomping at the man, blood was squirting out of his nose and mouth and fresh wounds were starting to form quickly. Juliana and Daryl exchanged looks between the two of them. Joe turned his attention back to the two, "I saw him do it," he admitted.

"Why didn't you try to stop him?" Juliana questioned.

Joe shrugged slightly, "He wanted to play that out. I let him. You two," he pointed his finger at the two of them, "told the truth. He lied. You two understand the rules. He doesn't."

As Daryl and Joe continued their short conversation, Juliana had become distracted by the grunts and groans that now were echoing throughout the concrete building. She watched as the man kicked and punched and slammed their fists and boots into Len's body like it was normal.

"Hey," Daryl's voice seemed far away at first, but quickly brought her back to reality. He had stuffed the rest of the rabbit back into the bag and Joe had wandered away, "Ya' alright?" he asked. Juliana could only offer him a shrug as a reply.

* * *

She couldn't remember when they had fallen asleep, but she woke up with her head on Daryl's out stretched arm. Clanging and moving around brought her out of her sleep quickly, and she sat up groggily, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. "Daryl," she mumbled, reaching her free hand down to shake his shoulder. He sat up quickly, looking almost shaken. Juliana kept her hand on his shoulder, "Just me," she reassured him.

He nodded, looking away from her and across the room. Juliana followed his haze to see where he was looking: the floor was stained with blood from where Len had been, and as Juliana looked around, she noticed Len wasn't there.

"Come on," Daryl muttered to Juliana as the door opened loudly and the rest of the group began to file out. He stood, slinging his crossbow over his shoulder and carrying the bag in one hand. Juliana followed him, grateful to be out of the old, musty building. The sun hit her eyes and she squinted, moving to stand next to Daryl who was looking down over the edge of the raised concrete platform.

"Daryl, what-" she stopped short, looking over the edge, "Jesus." She whispered. Len had a single arrow through his eye socket, sticking out of the back of her head. Part of her felt for the man, but he had tried to accuse both her and Daryl of something they didn't do. Not to mention the comments he had made that caused Juliana's anger to boil over. As Daryl grabbed a discarded blanket that was laying off to the side, Juliana interjected, "Don't." she told him simply and began to walk away, "He doesn't deserve it." As she walked a few paces ahead of Daryl, Juliana glanced back to see Daryl hesitate and then toss the blanket down.

She, Daryl and Joe were once again walking side by side not too soon after, the three of them crossing a field with tall grass. Joe had offered Daryl and Juliana some homemade alcohol which, of course, Juliana declined. She watched as the two of them shared the flask, and while she still wasn't completely trusting of the group, she was glad to see that tension had eased between the two of them and the rest of the group.

"I ain't be lit at dawn since before everything fell apart."

"Fell apart," Joe mused, "I never looked at it like that. Seems to me like things are finally starting to fall together. At least for people like us. Living like this, surviving. We've been doin' this from the start, right?"

The train tracks that they had been following for a while the day before came back into view, Juliana had picked up her pace so she was ahead of Daryl and Joe. A man-made mad which said 'TERMINUS' next to a star and roadways and tracks leading directly towards it caught her eye. Above it mentioned a sanctuary for all. "Daryl," she called out to him, grabbing his attention. He came up next to her, squinting at the map.

"You seen this before?" he asked Joe.

"Oh yeah," Joe commented, "I'll tell you what it is: a lie. Ain't no sanctuary for all. Ain't gonna welcome people like us with open arms." He walked off quickly, leaving Daryl and Juliana behind.

"Maybe they went there."

"C'mon, Jules.."

"We ain't givin' up, Dixon. Beth wouldn't-" Daryl cut her off, pointing a finger at her.

"Beth ain't here," he growled, storming away from her to catch up to Joe. Juliana had never felt so small before. She had been alone, wandering by herself for so long she didn't know the date, and had met the group by luck. Daryl had quickly become her constant. He was quiet and stubborn, but loyal. Juliana felt like she understood him, and he understood her. There had always been a silent understanding between the two of them, but now, as she watched him walk away from her, she felt like she was losing grip of the one thing that kept her on solid ground.


	19. I Have Faith

**19**

* * *

"Tell me about yourself, Juliana," Joe inquired, half of a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. The smoke swirled around his head and up into the air as she, Daryl and Joe walked in the line through a tall grass field. When the wind picked up, the grass whipped at her legs and she could feel the sting of the blades through her jeans.

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as the wind picked up she shrugged, not looking over to Joe as she answered him, "Not much to say." She mumbled, only loud enough for him to hear.

Joe scoffed, plucking the cigarette out from between his lips and flicked the ashes onto the ground as they continued on, "Bullshit," he spat, "You've made it this long, so obviously, you know how to survive. Hell, you probably coulda survived on your looks. I'm surprised no one-"

Daryl's head snapped in Joe's direction, his eyes narrowed. Flicking his cigarette off onto the ground, Joe held his hands up in defeat and an awkward silence surrounded the three of them. One of the men ahead of them caught Joe's attention, and he broke off from Daryl and Juliana to meet up with the main group. Juliana leaned slightly into Daryl as they walked, their arms brushing up against one another.

"I think we should leave," Juliana suggested. Daryl turned his gaze down to Juliana, followed by a heavy sigh.

"An' go where?"

"Anywhere."

"Jules.."

Juliana stopped, grabbing Daryl by the forearm to force him to stop next to her. Turning slightly so she was better able to face him, she placed her hands on each of his arms, looking up at the man, "You ain't stupid Daryl, I know you don't trust them. We're followin' people who could kill us in our sleep. And this whole 'claimed' bullshit? Jesus." Daryl tried avoiding eye contact with her, looking out past her shoulder instead of her face, "Daryl," she moved her hands from his arms up to his face, one hand on either side, "Look at me, please." His gaze flickered back down to her, "We'll be okay on our own. We've been okay by ourselves." She paused, "We have to believe that Beth was right, that maybe the group is still alive somewhere." Her voice lowered to almost a whisper; her throat hot and tight, "I have faith."

Daryl stared at Juliana. It was the first time the two of them had made eye contact for such a long time. For as much as a badass Daryl had made himself out to be, he was shy and awkward, and she never wanted to push him into an uncomfortable position. But now her stomach was tying itself up in knots, and she wasn't sure if it was hunger or some other emotion she hadn't felt in quite some time.

"Okay," he grumbled, wrapping his fingers around her wrists to move her hands down and away from his face, "Tonight. We'll hold back. We'll leave we they ain't lookin'." Nodding in agreement, Daryl finally released his grip from her wrist, letting her hands drop back down to her sides.

"You two comin' or what?" Joe called from further down the field. Exchanging looks, Daryl and Juliana carried on, trudging after Joe and the rest of the group.

* * *

When night came, Daryl and Juliana had held back from the group like they had planned. Joe had vaguely mentioned that they had seen the man who had killed one of their men some ways back before they had met Daryl and Juliana, and they were on the warpath to get their revenge. The two of them had not been concerned with whoever they were chasing, and as the group made their way in closer to attack whoever it was, a familiar voice caught Juliana's ear, causing her to stop short and listen.

"Wha-" Juliana cut Daryl off, placing a single finger up to him to keep him from talking while she strained to listen through the snapping of branches and various night-time insects that buzzed in the forest. The more she focused, the more she was able to catch certain words the man said, and the more her heart rate increased.

It was Rick.

"It's Rick," she whispered to Daryl, eyes wide in the dark. Suddenly, there was crashing of branches and the sound of a gun cocking followed by Joe's voice. "Shit!" Juliana cursed. Daryl yanked at Juliana's sleeve, pulling her roughly through the woods as they both realized they had found someone else from the group. Beth had been right.

As they came to the edge of the woods, an old car allowed them to sneak around the back of the group. Daryl led the way in front of Juliana, keeping close to the back of the van, waiting for a better moment to make their move. As Joe's count down began, Juliana could feel Daryl's body tense; and then it was gone.

"Joe!" Daryl called out as he stepped out from behind the van. Juliana cursed under her breath and followed him, not prepared for what he had planned, but she was ready to back him up.

To her amazement, it wasn't only Rick, but Michonne sitting next to him. Rick and Michonne's eyes were wide as they saw Daryl and Juliana seemingly come out of nowhere; standing in front of the two of them.

"..Hold up," Daryl's voice quivered for a moment, causing a rush of panic to surge through Juliana's veins, concerned at his tone of voice.

"You're stoppin' me on eight, Daryl," Joe chided.

Daryl and Juliana both began to cautiously step closer to Rick and Michonne, "Just hold up," Juliana repeated Daryl's words.

"This is the guy that killed Lou, so we got nothing to talk about!" one of the men interjected.

"The thing about nowadays is we got nothin' but time," Joe said. "Say your piece, Daryl," Joe looked over to Daryl, barrel of the gun he was holding still firmly planted against Rick's skull.

"These people," Daryl began, tongue flicking out to wet his bottom lip, "..you're gonna let them go."

A small smirk appeared on Joes face at Daryl's request, "Now, I think Lou would disagree with you on that. I'll, of course, have to speak for him and all, cause your friend here strangled him in a bathroom."

Juliana and Michonne locked eyes, both of the women trying to figure out what Daryl's plan was to get all of them out of this mess.

"You want blood, I get it," Daryl paused for a moment, gently tossing his crossbow down at his feet. Juliana's eyes widened as she slowly began to realize what Daryl was trying to do. She watched with wide eyes as Daryl opened up his arms as a sacrifice in place of Rick, "Take it from me, man. Come on."

Joe stared at Daryl as if he was a hurt puppy, "This man hurt our friend. You say he's good people. See, now that right there," with his free hand, he shook a finger at Daryl, "is a lie. It's a lie!" his voice rose and Daryl's hands dropped to his side. From behind him, one of the men came up and grabbed Daryl around his shoulders, another coming up to the side and struck him in the stomach with the butt of their gun, causing Daryl to double over.

"No!" Juliana shouted, reaching out to grab at one of the men. She was met with the end of the gun to her jaw, causing his bottom lip to instantly split open; warm blood rushing down her chin. The blow was unexpected enough that she stumbled backwards, tripping on her own feet and falling backwards onto the ground.

"Teach him fellas! Teach him all the way!" his gaze drifted over to Juliana as she tried to regain her composure, "And when you're done teach his girl, too."

She felt helpless as she struggled to stand, watching as Daryl was pummeled against the side of the van. Her attention was quickly adverted away when Rick screamed out: 'you leave him be!' As she pulled herself up to her knees, she saw why rick was yelling: Carl. Rage burned in her as one of the men dragged Carl out of the van, tossing him onto the ground and pressed himself up against Carl, maniacal laughter coming out of his body.  
Rick and Michonne squirmed, wanting badly to go rescue Carl, but knowing they wouldn't be able to help him if they were both dead.

"Get the girl!" Joe shouted at one of the men as Juliana began to stand. One of the men who had been beating up Daryl stalking over to Juliana, and with a balled-up fist, punched her hard in the stomach. Doubling over, Juliana wrapped her arms around her stomach in pain, but it wasn't over. The man then reached out, wrapping his hand around Juliana's throat and squeezed, pushing her down to the ground in a way so she could straddle her. Juliana gasped, kicking and struggling under the weight of the man on top of her.

Sounds around her seemed far away; going in one ear and out the other. Her fingers pulled at the man's hand wrapped around her throat, only causing him to tighten his grip around her.

Then it stopped.

Juliana took a deep breath in, feeling like she had just come up for air out of water. The man on top of her remained still, caught off guard at whatever was happening. Suddenly, the body of top of her was quickly removed. Juliana had gained enough of her sense to roll over and push herself up off of the ground, standing on shaky legs. In front of her, Daryl was shoving the heel of his boot into the face of the man who had been choking her.

"D-" as she began to speak, her throat constricted and felt painful, causing Juliana to wince. She moved over to him instead, reaching out to place a hand on Daryl's shoulder.

It had caught him off guard, and Daryl whipped around, grabbing ahold of the fabric of Juliana's shirt. His eyes were wild with rage and ready to attack when he realized he had a hold of Juliana. Dropping his hand almost instantly, he pulled Juliana into a hug, wrapping his arms around her. Juliana did not return the gesture, still caught off guard at what exactly had transpired.

Daryl took a step back, gently grabbing her chin to examine her wounds, "Are you okay, Jules?" he questioned, eyes filled with worry.

Juliana nodded, one of her hands reaching up to her neck, gently rubbing the skin around her throat. She was sure that there would be a nice sized hand printed wrapped around her neck, "Alive." She forced out, voice scratchy and raw.

Pulling herself away from Daryl, she turned around to survey what damage had been done. The gang she and Daryl had been with were scattered around, obviously dead. Rick was covered in blood, particularly around his face and Michonne had Carl in her arms, comforting him. Turning back to Daryl, she could only manage to squeak out one thing: "What the fuck?"


	20. All That Matters

**20**

 **All That Matters**

* * *

At first, Juliana had thought that Rick had turned. The dark, red blood contrasted sharply against his blue eyes, coming across as shocking. Daryl quickly mumbled to her that Rick had killed Joe, who laid dead on the ground at Rick's feet; a large pool of blood settled around his body. The rest of the men had suffered the same fates as Joe, and the man who had been on top of Juliana had his face smashed in so hard by Daryl he was unrecognizable.

She tugged at the hem of her shirt, pulling it up to wipe at the blood that was still rolling down her chin. Daryl's eyes narrowed as he turned to face her, "Are you alright?" he questioned, his voice quiet.

She nodded quickly, letting the fabric of her shirt drop, "We gotta kill 'em before they turn," Juliana told him simply, her voice monotone. Daryl reached out before she could walk away from him, his hand firmly wrapping around her upper arm causing her to stumble backwards as he restricted her from moving forward.

"You just got the shit beat outta ya'."

"You'd do the same thing."

"It's different," he mumbled, down casting his eyes.

"How?" she questioned, roughly yanking her arm out of his grasp with a twist and a tug. Her eyes were slightly wider than normal as she stared at Daryl through the dark. Briefly her gaze flickered over to Rick, still standing over Joe's body while Michonne held Carl close to her before returning her gaze back to Daryl, "What if you weren't here, Daryl?"

It didn't take but a second for Daryl to respond, "You wouldn't have made it here if I hadn't been with ya', Jules! We both know what they would've done!" his voice rose slightly, causing Juliana to sink back. When Daryl yelled, it was always for a reason; his emotions swelled up in him until they burst, or he was worried enough that they just spilled out in the form of yelling. Juliana was sure that both reasons were why he was yelling now.

Her gaze softened, "I'm sorry," she choked out, voice still scratchy from the pressure the man's hand had had around her throat. Juliana watched as Daryl chewed on his bottom lip, his gaze flickering between her and Rick and Michonne, "Daryl," Juliana repeated reaching out with her hand to grab a hold of his. She could feel him tense under her touch, watching as his Adams apple bopped up and down as he swallowed, "I'm okay. Let's get these guys outta here. Carl doesn't need to see this shit."

Daryl held onto Juliana's hand until she was the one to let go.

* * *

The two of them went to work getting rid of the group of men. They made sure they weren't able to turn and drug them off down the road until they were far out of view of the van. They rolled the men down a small embankment and out of sight. Daryl had done most of the heavy lifting as the two worked mostly in silence together. Eventually as daylight began to break, he shooed her off back to the van to get some rest. Juliana noticed Rick hadn't moved from the spot he eventually settled at, sitting with his back up against the van, staring off into space. The blood had dried by now, but still covered him. Juliana's lips parted, wanting to say something to him, but nothing came out. With a heavy sigh, she made her way around the van, pulling open the passenger side door and slid in.

Michonne lifted her head as Juliana entered. Juliana quietly shut the door as she had glanced back a noticed Carl sleeping with his head on Michonne's lap.

"How's he doing?"

Michonne gave a small shrug, her hand gently caressing Carl's hair as he slept, "Okay. I'm sure he could be better."

"He'll be okay," Juliana tried to reassure her. Michonne offered Juliana a small smile which Juliana reciprocated.

"Are you okay?"

A small laugh escaped Juliana's lips and she shook her head, "I feel great. Another day at the fuckin' spa," she teased. Michonne grinned at Juliana, both of the women glad to have something to lighten their moods.

The conversation between the two quickly ended as they heard Daryl come back, and Rick finally begin to speak. They exchanged glances before turning their attention towards the conversation between the two men.

"I didn't know what they were."

"How'd you and Jules wind up with them?"

"We were with Beth," Daryl said, her name causing Juliana's heart to sink, "The three of us got out together. We were with her for a while."

"Is she dead?"

"She's just gone."

Juliana sunk back into the front passenger seat, her head falling back against the head rest as she continued to listen to the two of them.

"After that," Daryl continued, "That's when they found us. I mean, we both knew they were bad. Jules didn't want to hang with them in the first place, but they had a code. It was simple. I had to..claim Jules so they wouldn't.." his voice trailed off for a moment as he admitted he had to proclaim to the group that Juliana was claimed as his. It was new to her, and Daryl had probably done it on purpose as not to cause anything strange between the two of them, "Stupid," he continued, "But it was somethin'. It was enough."

"You two were alone. You had to protect Jules."

Daryl nodded, "Said they were lookin' for some guy. Last night they said they spotted him. Jules wanted to leave, so we had hung back. We were gonna leave. But then she heard you, and we saw that it was you three. I didn't know what they could do."

"It's not on you, Daryl. Hey. It's not on you."

"You and Jules being back with us here, now, that's everything. You're my brother, and I know how much you are about Jules." There was a silence then, and when Rick had made the comment about her, she couldn't help but feel her heart flutter.

"Hey," Daryl broke the silence, "What you did last night..anybody would have done that."

"No. Not that."

"Something happened. That ain't you."

"Daryl, you saw what I did to Tyrese. It ain't all of it, but that's me. That's why I'm here now," Juliana sat up again, turning slightly so she was better able to check on Michonne and Carl. His comments causing Michonne and Juliana to lock eyes for a minute before both their gazes dropped down to Carl, who had woken up, "That's why Carl is. I want to keep him safe. That's all that matters."

It was then Juliana realized how far she and Daryl would both go to protect each other.

It was all that mattered.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey everyone! I've noticed I've been getting reads but not a lot of reviews - please review if you enjoy this story! Also, I have a Negan x OC in the works. It's something that's in the back of my mind about how Negan's Saviors started (and, of course, a woman is going to be behind the madness ;) ). I am going to try to update more since I have a little extra time this term. Thanks for reading!**


	21. Weapons Don't Weep

**21**

 **Weapons Don't Weep**

* * *

The wind cut through the trees around them, turning up the fallen leaves that were caught up in the turbulence of the air. The air was cold and sharp and was a welcome relief from the sweltering Georgia heat that always seemed to consume them.

Juliana was glad to be with Rick, Michonne and Carl, even if now there was a weird tension between Rick and Carl. She didn't blame Carl, though. He had just witnessed his father ripping open the throat of a man who was going to kill all of them. At the same time, Rick's actions had saved them all. Thinking back, Juliana was almost certain if it had lasted even a minute more the man who was choking her would have killed her.

"Hey," Daryl's voice rumbled, breaking her out of her thoughts, "You okay?"

Juliana shrugged her shoulders, adjusting the too large jacket she had taken off one of the men before they got rid of them, "I'm okay," she replied, glancing over at Daryl as they walked side by side on the railroad tracks. She motioned to his eye, which was slightly swollen and discolored red and purple, "How's your eye?"

Daryl replied with mumbled 'okay', his hand moved to his mouth, fingers picking at his bottom lip. Knowing Daryl long enough, she knew something was on his mind.

"Hey, Carl," Juliana slowed, "You mind letting Daryl and I talk?" Carl looked up at Juliana from underneath the wide brimmed sheriff's hat.

"Yeah, sure," he sighed, picking up his pace. Just before he could make his way past Juliana, she grabbed ahold of Carl's arm, pulling the boy into an awkward side hug. He grinned lopsidedly at her playfulness, "I owe you a chocolate bar."

"Deal."

As soon as Carl moved ahead of the two of them, she fell back in step with Daryl, "You're not okay."

It was almost as if a bomb went off. Daryl came to a sharp stop, turning his entire body to face Juliana, "Drop it, Jules!" he growled, shoving a finger at her chest, "You always gotta get up in my shit! I told ya' there ain't nothin' wrong!"

Juliana became just as angry, and a quick glance out of the corner of her eye determined that Rick, Michonne and Carl had stopped ahead of the two of them, passing curious and worried looks between the three of them. None of the trio would dare interrupt Juliana and Daryl's spat, though.

She slapped at his hand, causing him to withdraw his arm, hand balling up into a fist at the sudden, sharp contact from her blow.

"Knock that shit off!" she hissed, eyes narrowing at him, "You're not the only one to get to be upset."

Daryl spoke up quickly, "I ain't fuckin' upset-"

Juliana was quick to counter back, scoffing at his statement, "Biggest fuckin' joke I've ever heard, Dixon." When Juliana called Daryl by his last name, it wasn't to be cute or playful. It was almost as if calling him by his last name, to her anyways, was her reminder to him that he was part of a team, and neither of them had to play the game alone.

"We'll find Beth. I didn't die. Hell, we found Rick and Michonne and Carl!"

"That ain't the point," Daryl mumbled, beginning to distance himself from the confrontation with her.

"Then what is!?" Juliana exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration.

"You!" Daryl hollered.

A startled flock of crows dispersed out of a nearby pine tree, scattering up into the grey sky in a great, black blob. The wind seemed to suddenly die as Daryl's voice rose and silence followed, contrasting strangely against the odd quiet that followed. Juliana felt small, sinking back into her heels as she looked up at Daryl with big, doe-like eyes. Daryl's gaze flickered away from her and to Rick, holding out a hand to the man as he had started to make his way over to the two of them out of concern.

"Me?" Juliana finally spoke up, quietly this time.

Daryl huffed, shrugging his shoulder to adjust his crossbow that was hanging off, "I ain't talkin' 'bout it now."

"Jesus, Daryl, just-"

He took a giant step inwards to her, Juliana watched as his fingers dug into the palms of his hands, keeping himself from raising a hand to her out of anger. Though she knew he probably would never hurt her, she knew how frustrated Daryl could become.

"We ain't talkin' 'bout this now," he reiterated, glancing once again to the trio that was still waiting ahead for them.

"Fine."

He didn't wait another minute before storming off up the railroad tracks, catching up with Rick and Carl who looked back over their shoulders at Juliana. She inhaled deeply, taking a moment herself before continuing.

"You two..alright?" Michonne questioned, having stayed behind to check up on Juliana.

Juliana shrugged, tucking a strand of wild hair that had been blown out of her ponytail, "We'll be alright."

There was a pregnant pause between the two women before Michonne spoke up again.

"He cares about you, but I'm sure you know that. You must see that, right? Ever since the prison. I mean, it was rocky at first. We were all unsure of you because we thought you were a spy for The Governor, but now," Michonne offered her a smile, "Your family, Jules, and Daryl would do anything to protect his family. We all would, but," she took a breath in, "-but Daryl.." Michonne's voice trailed off, "Daryl would do anything for you."

At her words, Juliana turned her head quickly in Michonne's direction. The dark-skinned woman only offered her a small shrug, "Don't deny it, Jules. It'll eat away at the both of you."

Michonne reached over, placing a hand on Juliana's shoulder, giving her a comforting squeeze and took off ahead of her, catching up with the rest of the group. Juliana kept her pace, staying a little way behind the rest of the group for now as they kept on making their way to the place they had seen scrawled on the plywood: Terminus. She knew Michonne was right, in the back of her mind she had always known she'd do whatever it took to protect Daryl, especially ever since the incident the night before. Still, she knew they both would withdraw from each other. Getting too close to someone never came to a happy ending.

Forcing her feelings into the back of her mind as best as she could, a mantra came to her mind in that moment: **you are a weapon, and weapons don't weep.**

* * *

 **A/N: Don't worry. I'm still here. ;) Remember to leave a review! - KC**


	22. See You Soon

**22**

 **See You Soon**

* * *

Tension filled the space between Daryl and Juliana. It was so thick you could cut it with a knife, but the two still walked silently next to each other. Juliana would cast glances in Daryl's direction as the two of them shuffled behind Rick and Michonne and Carl ended up falling behind the four of them taking up the rear. Juliana watched as Rick meandered off to the side, noticing a fallen down piece of plywood covered by leaves. He wandered over to it, using his boot to kick off the debris: it was another sign for Terminus.

The entire group slowed, finally coming to a stop where the sign lay on the ground. "We're gettin' close," Daryl mused out loud, "Be there before sundown." His words caused Juliana's gut to twist. While she had carried on the hope that Beth had instilled in her that the rest of the group was still alive, her intuition was telling her something was off about this place. It just didn't seem right.

Rick nodded at Daryl's observation, looking at all of them, "Now we head through the woods. We don't know who they are."

Without anything else spoken between the five of them, they followed out after Daryl through the woods. Juliana fell back to Rick's side, letting Daryl go on ahead. "Are you sure this is the right thing?" Juliana questioned, looking over to Rick as they made their way through the woods, leaves crunching loudly under foot.

Rick raised an eyebrow to her question, "You think it's not?"

Juliana offered him a shrug, "It doesn't feel right."

"We have to try, Jules," he told her, his gravelly voice oddly comforting in this moment.

She let out a heavy sigh, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as they kept on but she didn't speak anymore. Rick had saved their asses more than once, and from what Juliana had heard before the prison, he'd kept the group alive for quite a while.

A chain-linked fence appeared, contrasting against the nature that they had been surrounded by. The group went on defense mode, weapons at the ready. Juliana had finally acquired a weapon, a handgun that they had taken from the group of men. Her fingers gripped it tightly, raising it slightly in front of her as they made their way up to the fencing. Peering through the fence, the word: TERMINUS was written in paint against some boarded up windows.

Rick took a step back, looking between the rest of them, "We all spread out; watch for a while, see what we see, and get ready. We all stay close."

Daryl and Juliana took off together, even if they were upset or frustrated at each other, they had become so accustomed to being alone together it felt natural to them to automatically go off on their own together. They did a quick scan of the fence line before Daryl mumbled something about 'going to get Rick', and they headed off back in the direction they came. Rick had dug a hole and had thrown the duffle bag full of weapons they had kept, into said hole. Daryl and Juliana watched in silence as he zipped up the bag. "Just in case," Rick told the two of them and begun to bury the bag with dirt.

Rick had decided that they were going to jump the fence, not wanting to come in the main way out of worry they would be ambushed. In his mind, it was going to be better if they were the ones who could do the ambushing. Juliana couldn't help but still feel that uneasy feeling deep down in her gut. Just before they started to make their way towards the fence, she reached out and grabbed Daryl's arm, tugging on the fabric of his sleeve.

"I'm staying."

His eyes narrowed, "What?"

Rick, Michonne and Carl turned around at Juliana's statement. Rick strode up in her, his eyes also narrowed in her direction and she couldn't tell if it was worry or annoyance. Before Rick could ask why, she spoke up: "You'll have someone on the outside in case it goes to shit. And if it doesn't.." her gaze flickered over to Daryl and she gave his arm a squeeze before dropping her hand, "I'll be here waitin'."

"Are you sure?" Rick inquired. Juliana nodded, now looking between him and Michonne and Carl. She could feel Daryl staring at the side of her head, and she swallowed hard, not wanting to look at him.

He nodded at her in agreement, not arguing with her decision before the four of them made their way over the fence, the metal clinking together as they pulled their bodies up and over the top. Daryl was the last to go over, and Juliana noticed him hesitating, his head turning ever so slightly over his shoulder. It was enough that Juliana caught his eye and she nodded, "I'll see ya' soon, Dixon." She assured him, and Daryl silently hooked his foot into the fence and pulled himself up and over, disappearing over the side.

She saw them for a few moments before they disappeared into the large warehouse building, her breathe caught in her throat as she watched them go out of her sight, suddenly hoping she had made the right choice to stay behind.

* * *

It was quiet for a while and all she heard was the wind and the crunching of leaves and branches around her or when she shuffled her feet back and forth. It was suddenly interrupted by the sharp sound of gun fire coming from Terminus. Juliana's grip around her gun tightened as she took off to the fence and was unable to see anything but could hear yelling and gunfire still. She cursed loudly, unsure of what to do. She wasn't sure where they were or what type of weapons the other people had. Her heart began to race and her palms became clammy.

Just then, the four came running out from the warehouse and Juliana noticed the men with guns on rooftops, surrounding them. She cursed again, realizing they had become surrounded by the other group. Juliana felt helpless, watching as they were forced to drop their weapons and herded into a train car. She watched as Michonne's and Carl's eyes flickered up to where they knew she was at, followed by Daryl and Rick. As the doors closed behind them, her helplessness formed into rage. She had to think fast.

Remembering the train tracks that led to Terminus, her first thought was to run back to see if anyone would be on their way to Terminus. More bodies to help her get the rest of the group out of there. The next thought was to try and physically shoot her way in herself, though she figured that would be a suicide mission.

She ran towards the tracks, and was pleasantly surprised to see a couple of figures walking in her direction. "Hey!" she yelled, waving her hand down the tracks from them, unable to make out their faces. They weren't walkers; Juliana noticed the weapons they were carrying and a bundle of something the larger figure was carrying. As she came closer, Juliana's heart stopped and so did her feet. Her eyes widened as she saw who was in front of her.

"Carol?"


	23. Felt Like Home

**23**

 **Felt Like Home**

* * *

 **A/N: First, I'm so sorry I've been MIA for a while! I had finals and started another summer internship a couple weeks ago so I have been busy. I will try to update at least once a week, BUT, I will be on vacation next week. Don't worry. I haven't forgotten you! :)**

* * *

Juliana felt as if she was underwater when she came face to face with Carol. She had been beyond upset when Rick had kicked her out of the prison, and she still had to admit that she resented Rick for it even now. What felt like hours of her standing there, staring at Carol, must have only been seconds before she flung her arms around the woman. Carol reciprocated the hug, wrapping her arms around Juliana's shoulders and pulled the younger girl closer to her. Carol's lips grazed the top of Juliana's hair in a motherly fashion before she pulled away from her, holding her at an arm's length out in front of her, a hand on each shoulder. It was then Juliana's gaze drifted to see Tyrese and baby Judith curled up in his arms.

A heavy breath escaped from her as Tyrese stared back at her in shock before speaking, "Holy shit."

Carol's arms dropped from Juliana's shoulder, "I want to have a reunion but-"

Juliana cut her off before she could continue, "Rick, Michonne, Carl, and Daryl are still alive." Carol and Tyrese exchanged glances between each other before turning their attention back to Juliana.

"Anyone else?" Tyrese questioned. Juliana chewed on her bottom lip, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear at his question, pausing for a moment before answering.

"Daryl and I were with Beth. Someone took her. I don't know about anyone else. But the four of them went into Terminus. I stayed behind; it just didn't feel safe. I should have-"

Carol cut her off, her voice almost sharp as she injected, "No, don't feel guilty for following your gut. They should have listened to you." Juliana could only nod in reply at Carol's comment. She had always been a mother figure to Juliana, telling her things she didn't want to hear, but there were times Carol had told her she had been jealous of Juliana's choice to stay on her own before she met the group.

"We can't wait," Carol told her and Tyrese. Juliana nodded in agreement.

"There's a fence line on the northeast side. It's where I saw them herded into some old shipping containers."

"Tyrese and I will find somewhere safe for Judith. I'll meet you there."

Carol's tone of voice let Juliana know that she was ready for whatever they were going to come across. She took off back in the direction of the fence line while Carol, Tyrese and Judith made off in the opposite direction. Her heart felt like it was running a mile a minute, not sure if it was just the pure adrenaline or nervousness of what could be happening to them. To Daryl.

She moved quickly, awkwardly stumbling over fallen trees and pushing low hanging branches out of her way that only came back to smack her in the face. Her nerves were starting to get the best of her; that glimmer of hope to possibly know that the group had survived seemed so tangible for the first time in forever.

As she came around a rather large tree, a walker stood, aimlessly groaning as it swayed from side to side in the middle of the woods. Juliana's hand wandered down to belt, her fingers wrapping around the handle of the blade Daryl had lent her. Gripping it tightly, she slowly pulled it out, ready for the walker. Moving carefully, Juliana stepped carefully, moving behind the walker. At the last second, she grabbed at the frayed collar of the walker. It let out a growl, it's teeth snapping together before Juliana plunged the knife into the back of its head. Silence followed quickly, the growling and snapping gone as the walker crumbled to the ground like a piece of thrown out paper.

Carol didn't waste her time meeting up with her. She had brought old burlap sacks that had the bottoms cut out into a circle large enough for their head to fit through. Carol explained that a herd was coming, and the easiest way to move around them was to be covered in them. The two women slipped on the burlap, and with the recently killed walker in front of them, went to work covering themselves in decay. Juliana followed Carol's lead, next covering her face in sticky red mud followed by sticky red guts. The smell was horrendous, but it was necessary. Juliana led Carol to the fence line, and it was then they both started to notice the walkers that were slowly beginning to filter through the trees.

The two of them moved up cautiously towards the fence, just in time to see a few people laying with their stomachs pressed against the ground. Juliana cursed to herself as she saw Rick and Daryl, but then her breath caught in her throat as she noticed Glenn next to them.

"Oh my god," she hissed to Carol, trying to be as quiet as possible, "Glenn's down there."

"Let's move quick, then," Carol told her. She set her bag of weapons she had brought with her down, and brought up a more advanced gun, using her sight to check out the compound. Juliana unzipped the bag while Carol checked things out, pulling out her own weapon to use.

"What do you see?"

"Propane tank."

"You need to get paid for this shit," Juliana teased her, causing the woman to smirk slightly at her comment.

The joking didn't last long, as they both took notice of the herd coming closer to the compound, "Now's probably a good time," Juliana told Carol as she swung the strap that was attached to the weapon around her shoulder.

Carol was already one step ahead, of course, and had scavenged a firework from god knows where, shoving in into the barrel of a gun that she aimed in the direction of the propane tank. With her other gun, she took aim at the tank and fired. Steam poured out from the tank, attracting walkers in that direction.

"Get ready," Carol warned Juliana, pulling the trigger. The women ducked, covering their ears. What followed next was a gigantic explosion, causing the two of them to jump at the loud noise that followed. They moved quickly, trying to not hesitant after the explosion. With guns ready, they made their way down to the compound, taking aim at walkers that were in their way as they entered Terminus. Juliana followed behind Carol, happy that her idea to cover themselves in guts was working as well as it did, otherwise they would have been swamped with the horde that was now spilling through the destroyed fencing.

They made their way into a dark building, careful to be as quiet as possible as they made their way through. The narrow hallway they traveled down opened into a medium size room filled with odds and ends; anything from stuffed animals to jewelry and weapons. They lowered their weapons, taking in the items on the table. Carol wandered from Juliana, moving towards a table on the opposite end of the room.

"This is fucked up," Juliana mumbled under her breath, her eyes scanning around the room. Suddenly, her gaze stopped as she caught sight of Daryl's crossbow. Her heart leapt up into her throat, and she rushed forward, grabbing at the crossbow like she had been starving and this was the first piece of food she had seen in weeks. Her fingers traced around the curves and nicks that were scattered on the handle of the bow. A strange, overwhelming feeling warmed her and she could have stood there forever, but Carol broke her out of her trance, urging the girl forward. Juliana swung the crossbow around her back and followed Carol.

They came out into a larger room than the one before. It was covered in lit candles, with names written in black paint on the floor and sayings like: NEVER TRUST and WE FIRST, written on the walls. Juliana and Carol exchanged nervous glances. Juliana's fingers wrapped tightly around her weapon to the point that her knuckles were turning white and her palms felt as if they were beginning to cramp from the position she was holding the gun in.

They began to pick up the pace; uneasy. "Drop your weapons and turn around." A female voice ordered from behind them. Juliana was ready to shoot, but Carol reached out, gently placing a hand on her forearm, not wanting her to do anything..yet.

"I want to see your faces. Now!"

Juliana side-eyed Carol, who returned the glance. She knew Carol was up to something. As she began to shrug off the crossbow and Carol acted as if she was lowering her weapon, she turned suddenly, firing at the woman who stood behind them. Carol and the woman rushed at each other, fighting over the gun that Carol held on to as best as she could. Juliana rushed over, aiming at the other woman.

"Don't shoot, Jules!" Carol shouted above the struggle.

It didn't take much for Carol to shove the crazed woman off her and stood quickly, gun aimed at her head. As the woman whipped around, steel pipe in hand, Juliana stepped forwards, pressing the barrel of her gun against the woman's head.

"Don't," Juliana growled through gritted teeth.

"The signs," the woman began, "they were real. It was a sanctuary. People came and took this place."

"Just tell us where-" Carol started.

"-and they raped, and they killed," the woman interjected, "And they laughed. Over weeks." Her voice became more and more emotional as she spoke, "But we got out, and we fought and we got it back. And we heard the message!" her voice was raised now, "You're the butcher.." a slight smirk appear on the corner of her lips, "..or you're the cattle."

"The men they pulled from that train car – where are they?" Juliana asked, nudging the barrel of her gun up against the woman's head.

Carol's eyes flashed in Juliana's direction before she fired at the woman's leg. She fell down to the ground, letting out a scream as she grabbed at her leg in pain. Juliana took a step back, lowering her gun slightly as Carol took a large step forward.

"Where are they?"

The woman ignored their question and instead responded with: "Now..point it at my head." She let out a laugh before continuing, "You could have been one of us. You could have listened to what the world is telling you."

Juliana huffed, rolling her eyes at her, "You lead people here, take what they have, and you kill them? Is that what this fuckin' place is?"

"No, not at first. It' what it had to be. And we're still here."

Carol shook her head, lowering her weapon and stepped backwards, grabbing the duffle bag she had with her, "You're not here," she told her. Carol gestured to Juliana, beckoning her to follow her towards the doorway, "And neither are we."

Moving to the doorway, Carol pushed open the door. The shuffling walkers that had been standing outside of the door moved inside, bypassing Carol and Juliana and made their way to the woman on the floor who began to plead for her life. Juliana felt a pang of guilt, but she trusted Carol. If she believed that this woman deserved it then she did.

The sunlight hit them hard, and they squinted as they made their way out of the dark room. The place was overrun with walkers now. Faint screaming and yelling could be heard in different directions.

"Rick would take them to the fence; he buried some guns there."

Carol nodded as they kept walking quickly through the herd, their gut-covered apparel still working well, "We'll head out that way, they have to be out by now. They're not stupid." Juliana nodded in agreement with her as they made their way out of what was left of Terminus and back up to the higher fence line where they had been before.

Shedding their blood-soaked clothing, Carol shared a dirty bottle of water with Juliana to help wipe the blood off their hands and face as best as they could now that the herd was fully distracted by the chaos of Terminus.

"I knew you were alive," Juliana admitted to Carol as she scrubbed at the tops of her hands, "What Rick did was stupid. He shouldn't have thrown you out like that. You did what you did to protect everyone."

"And he was trying to protect everyone from me."

"Carol.." Juliana began, but was cut off by the sound of voices.

"I'll go first-stay here."

Carol wandered off, leaving Juliana by herself. She was hoping that those voices were the group. She was hoping it was everyone. She had become so accustomed to the group that being alone again seemed so foreign and scary to her now. Juliana had to admit that they had all found a way into her heart; one more than the others.

While Carol had told her to stay for her own safety, Juliana wouldn't stay for long. With Daryl's crossbow around her back, she made her way in the direction of Carol and the voices. As she came around some thicker brush, she saw them. Everyone. Her heart wanted to explode.

Carol turned to look over her shoulder at the noise Juliana had made as she walked, revealing Daryl standing in front of her. Daryl looked at Juliana in a way she had never seen before. If her heart hadn't exploded by now, it was going to soon. He ran to Juliana, wrapping his arms around her. He pulled her tightly to him, burying his face in the crook of her neck. She was hesitant at first, not having seen this side of Daryl before, but eventually her arms found their way around him.

Ever since the end had happened, Juliana had been a wanderer. Finding the group brought her comfort and hope.

But Daryl.

Daryl felt like home.


	24. AUTHOR'S NOTE

WANT MORE?

I decided I will now only upload directly to Wattpad. It's easier for me (plus there's an app, which makes reading fanfiction 10xs easier!). If you want to find out what happens, please come and follow me on Wattpad! My username is prairiekate.

See you there!


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